by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls girls tennis team is playing its best tennis at the right time. The 2022 edition of the Prowler girls tennis team began the season with a goal to win the Section 8AA championship and on Friday, that goal was fulfilled with a pair of dominant wins over St. Cloud Tech and Annandale.
Thief River Falls defeated St. Cloud Tech, the top seed from the south half of Section 8AA, 5-2 in the semifinal round, and they claimed the championship with a 6-1 win over Annandale.
“There truly are no words to express how proud I am of these girls,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Shawna Spears. “Being in AA can be a challenge, but these girls have really shown up these last couple of weeks and have made a name for the team. Teams like Tech and Annandale are usually the ones expected to make it to State from our section, but we went to sections ready to take charge and that is exactly what the girls did! Everybody worked extremely hard and each girl walked onto that court wanting their point more than anything in the world, and in the end it all paid off.”
Getting to the championship match against Annandale meant getting over the hump against a St. Cloud Tech team that has tormented the Prowlers for years.
St. Cloud Tech ended the season for Thief River Falls in both 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the Tigers ended an otherwise unbeaten season for the Prowlers with a 6-1 win in the Section 8AA championship dual. A year later, the Tigers ended the Prowlers’ season in the section semifinal round.
“This team has been a big rival of Thief River in the double AA section,” Spears said. “They were often who put an end to our season when I played. The girls were fired up going onto the courts.”
Spears said her team didn’t appear nervous but was confident and loose, which made her all the more excited.
“Seeing them overcome Perham in subsections with a 5-2 win, I knew they had the skill and determination to defeat the long rival,” Spears said. “However, I knew that Tech was a highly competitive team.”
The Prowlers used what has been their strongest lineup for dual meets. Brooklyn Broadwell, Avery Skaar, Braylee Wienen and Ingrid Anderson in the four singles spots, and Paige Weets/Bell Hamre, Stephanie Dagg/Piper Greene, and Anna Lunsetter/Grace Gillespie in doubles spots one through three.
The Prowlers quickly asserted themselves with wins by Skaar and Wienen in the number two and three singles spots. Wienen was the first to post her score, defeating Emma Parries 6-1, 6-0 to give the Prowlers a 1-0 lead. Skaar wasn’t far behind, claiming a 6-1, 6-2 win over Olivia Bauerly in the number two spot.
The Tigers got on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win by Jenna Amundson/Samantha O’Donnell in the number three doubles match.
“They took the point at three doubles, but we were still ahead in three of the four remaining matches,” Spears said. “Eventually Ingrid [Anderson] took a win at four singles and Piper [Greene] and Stephanie [Dagg] gave us our fourth point at two doubles.”
Anderson defeated Ashley Veran in straight sets to give the Prowlers a 3-1 lead, and the number two doubles team of Dagg and Greene defeated Sadie McLean and Lily Howe in three sets to clinch the dual.
The Tigers got one more point with a number one doubles win by Isabelle Anderson and Abby Brown over Hamre and Weets 6-1, 6-3.
Broadwell concluded the scoring for the Prowlers with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Paige Tarrolly in the number one spot.
“The girls were fired up and just so proud of overcoming such a good team,” Spears said. “We watched and waited as Bemidji and Annandale competed to see which of those teams we would be playing in the Championship. While watching, we all realized the reality that we could highly compete with either of the teams. We had lost to Bemidji 3-4 early in the season, so we knew we could compete with them and while watching how close of a match they were having with Annandale, the girls really found some confidence. Annandale ended up beating Bemidji 4-3.
“As we took the court for the Championship, the girls had some new energy, some new fire, some new attitudes that were fresh. All things I had not seen in them as competitors yet- which like I’ve said before, now was the time to bring it out.”
The championship match followed a similar path as the semifinal with Wienen picking up the first win. Wienen defeated Grace Gillitzer 6-0, 6-0 to win the number three singles match and stake the Prowlers to 1-0 lead. Next to finish for the Prowlers were Dagg and Greene in the number two spot with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Amy Eckstrom and Emily Hinnenkamp.
Gillespie and Lunsetter dropped their match to Lauren Crowell/Bryn Fahey in the number three doubles spot, but the Prowlers quickly bounced back as Anderson claimed a win in number four singles spot over Claire Lampi 7-6 (5), 6-2.
“Now we were waiting on one more as we were ahead at two singles and one doubles,” Spears said. “Avery finished up her long battle (6-3 , 2-6, 6-2), giving us our fourth point giving us the ticket to State! Eventually one doubles of Paige and Bell and Brooklyn at one singles gave us points five and six.”
This is the Prowlers’ third section championship in the past four years – the team won the Section 8A championship in 2019 and 2020 – but first in Section 8AA since 2006. Overall, the 2022 section championship is the fifth section/region championship in program history.
For more on the 2022 section championship, including results from the individual tournament, check out this week’s print and e-editions of the Thief River Falls Times.
Thief River Falls 5,
St. Cloud Tech 2
Singles – No. 1: Brooklyn Broadwell, TRF, def Paige Tarrolly 7-5, 6-2; No. 2: Avery Skaar, TRF, def Olivia Bauerly 6-1, 6-2; No. 3: Braylee Wienen, TRF, def. Emma Parries 6-1, 6-0; No. 4: Ingrid Anderson, TRF, def. Ashley Verant 7-5, 6-3.
Doubles – No. 1: Isabelle Anderson/Abby Brown, SCT, def. Bell Hamre/Paige Weets 6-1, 6-3; No. 2: Stephanie Dagg/Piper Greene, TRF, def. Sadie McLean/Lily Howe 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; No. 3: Jenna Amundson/Samantha O’Donnell, SCT, def. Anna Lunsetter/Grace Gillespie 6-2, 6-2.
Thief River Falls 6,
Annandale 1
Singles – No. 1: Brooklyn Broadwell, TRF, def. Faith Simon 5-7, 6-4, 13-11; No. 2:Avery Skaar, TRF, def Avery Gagnon 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; No. 3:Braylee Wienen, TRF, def Grace Gillitzer 6-0, 6-0; No. 4: Ingrid Anderson, TRF, def Claire Lampi 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Doubles – No. 1:Bell Hamre/Paige Weets, TRF, def Kate Jonas/Alicia Langbehn 7-6 (4), 7-5; No. 2:Stephanie Dagg/Piper Greene, TRF, def Amy Eckstrom/Emily Hinnenkamp 6-3, 6-0; No. 3; Lauren Crowell/Bryn Fahey def. Anna Lunsetter/Grace Gillespie 6-3, 6-1.