by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls bounced back from a 6-1 quarterfinal loss to top-seeded Breck on Tuesday morning with back-to-back wins Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon to claim the consolation championship at the MSHSL Class A Girls State Tennis Tournament.
The doubles team of Olivia Schuster and Kaitlyn Jahn picked up the lone win for the unseeded Prowlers in the quarterfinal match against the Mustangs. The Mustangs were upset by the Litchfield Dragons in the first of two semifinal duals Wednesday morning and went on to finish third with a win over Foley.
The Prowlers bounced back from the opening round loss with a 5-2 triumph over the fifth-seeded Pine City Dragons Tuesday night. The Prowlers picked up singles wins from Braylee Wienen, Piper Greene, Tegan Pray and Jaclyn Novak in spots one through four, and a doubles win from Schuster and Jahn in the number two spot.
The win over the Dragons secured just the second-ever top-six finish for the Prowlers. Thief River Falls’ opponent in the consolation champion was the Lake City Panthers. The Panthers dropped their opening round dual to second-seeded St. James by a score of 6-1, before bouncing back with a 7-0 win over Montevideo in the consolation semifinal round Tuesday night.
The consolation championship match was a competitive battle with the Prowlers edging the Panthers 4-3. Singles matches were split 2-2, with the Prowlers getting wins from Wienen and Pray in spots one and three, and the Prowlers holding a 2-1 edge in doubles matches, with wins by Schuster/Jahn and Mackenzie Lee/Ava Niebuhr in doubles spots two and three.
Wienen and Greene, Thief River Falls’ doubles entry in the individual state tournament, competed in the opening round of doubles competition Thursday morning. A full recap of the state tournament will appear in next week’s edition of The Times.
Breck 6, Thief River Falls 1
Singles – No. 1 – Abbey Perry, Breck, def. Braylee Wienen, Thief River Falls, 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 – Addie Berman, Breck, def. Piper Greene, Thief River Falls, 6-4, 6-4; No. 3 – Autumn Lin, Breck, def. Tegan Pray, Thief River Falls, 6-3, 6-3; No. 4 – Emmy Liu, Breck, def. Jaclyn Novak, Thief River Falls, 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles – No. 1 – Caroline Kuhn/Julia Zucchi, Breck, def. Samantha Rodahl/Raya Dahlin, Thief River Falls, 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 – Olivia Schuster/Kaitlyn Jahn, Thief River Falls, def. Maddie Kowal/Emma Zucchi, Breck, 6-0, 6-3; No. 3 – Frances Duffy/Stella Birdsong, Breck, def. Mackenzie Lee/Ava Niebuhr, Thief River Falls, 6-4, 6-2.
Thief River Falls 5, Pine City 2
Singles – No. 1 – Braylee Wienen, Thief River Falls, def. Brooke Boland, Pine City, 6-4, 7-5; No. 2 – Piper Greene, Thief River Falls, def. Alana Linnell, Pine City 6-3, 6-1; No. 3 – Tegan Pray, Thief River Falls, def. Alyssa Miller, Pine City, 6-0, 6-1; No. 4 – Jaclyn Novak, Thief River Falls, def. Myra Roubinek, Pine City, 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles – No. 1 – Vivian Lahti/Kate Unverzagt, Pine City, def. Samantha Rodahl/Raya Dahlin, Thief River Falls, 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 – Olivia Schuster/Kaitlyn Jahn, Thief River Falls, def. Brecklyn Nicoll/Lily Rootkie, Pine City, 6-4, 6-0; No. 3 – Kendall Steele/Mallory Clepper, Pine City, def. Mackenzie Lee/Ava Niebuhr, Thief River Falls 7-5, 6-1.
Thief River Falls 4, Lake City 3
Singles – No. 1 – Braylee Wienen, Thief River Falls, def. Rylee Thieren, Lake City 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 – Thèrèse Bauer, Lake City, def. Piper Greene, Thief River Falls, 7-5, 6-1; No. 3 – Tegan Pray, Thief River Falls, def. Gemma Bauer, Lake City, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0, No. 4 – Emma Siert, Lake City, def. Jaclyn Novak, Thief River Falls, 6-0, 6-3.
Doubles – No. 1 – Emily Mehrkens/Mary Kate Bauer, Lake City, def. Samantha Rodahl/Raya Dahlin, Thief River Falls, 6-3, 6-2; No. 2 – Olivia Schuster/Kaitlyn Jahn, Thief River Falls, def. Julia Huettl/Erica Wallerich, Lake City, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 – Mackenzie Lee/Ava Niebuhr, Thief River Falls, def. Addie Thieren/Madyson Skifton, Lake City, 6-2, 7-5.