ST. PETER - Tina Aarsvold may have started a prep tennis fashion trend Monday.
The St. Peter doubles player donned one black ankle sock on her left foot and a white one on the right during Section 2A Individual Meet tennis action at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
While her socks were mismatched, Aarsvold and doubles partner Taylor Volk proved a perfect fit as the No. 4-seeded tandem produced two victories to exit the Swanson Tennis Center as semifinalists.
Aarsvold and Volk join No. 1-seeded Molly Yokiel and Kellie Robbins of United South Central, No. 2 Mandy Stencel and Sara Anderson of Maple River, and No. 3 Anna Dreismane and Kayla Trocke of Sibley East in today's Section 2A individual semifinals at 3 p.m. back at Gustavus Adolphus' indoor facility.
In sectional singles action, four of the top five seeded netters also lived up to their billings to advance to today's semifinals.
No. 1-seeded Heather Annis of Maple River faces No. 5 Ali Ramsley of USC at 3 p.m. today at the Swanson Tennis Center, while No. 2 Katie Huber of St. Peter squares off against No. 3 Maura Flaherty of Belle Plaine in the other singles semifinals.
"With a number of good singles players moving to doubles for sections, it was difficult to know exactly where to seed some of the teams," said Fairmont head coach Jeff Nauman.
Monday's final results proved the sectional coaches' pre-meet evaluations were as accurate as an Aarsvold passing shot.
"It was early this morning, and I picked up ones (socks) that didn't match," said a sleepy Aarsvold nearly two and a half hours prior to her first match of the postseason competition.
After Blue Earth Area's Jackie Klinkner and Emily Slama recorded back-to-back service breaks to rally for a 6-4 first-set victory over Aarsvold and Volk, Aarsvold delivered four clutch game-winning points via two line-finding forehand passing returns and a pair of scorched smashes to fuel the Saints' 6-2 second-set victory.
Slama's serving and Klinkner's forehand flurries produced a 2-2 score in the quarterfinals' decisive third set, but Aarsvold's serving and Volk's poaching near the net helped the St. Peter duo stave off five deuces in Game 5.
The two hard-hitting tandems later traded service breaks at 4-all before Aarsvold's stinging serves inched the Saints within one game of reaching the semifinals.
Volk delivered a chip shot that sealed Game 10 and the third set at 6-4 to end an outstanding season for the No. 5-seeded Klinkner and Slama.
Aarsvold and Volk will face Yokiel and Robbins in one of today's 3 p.m. doubles semifinals, while Dreismane and Trocke battle Stencel and Anderson in the other half of the bracket.
Stencel and Anderson gained the semifinals by downing USC's Carolyn Schmitz and Cami Christians in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-0, after defeating Fairmont's Hayley Grefe and Rachel Tenney in first-round action, 6-0, 6-1.
Grefe and Tenney outlasted Jordan's Victoria Swiontek and Drew DeCorsey during a play-in match, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, (10-3).
Dreismane and Trocke reached the semifinals by knocking out LeSueur-Henderson's Megan DePree and Erin Seaver in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-0, after defeating Blue Earth Area's Jessica Skaare and Olivia Skaare in the round of 16, 6-0, 6-1.
The Skaares reached the opening round by outslugging St. Peter's Megan Wenner and Bethann Cross during play-in action, 3-6, 7-6 (4), (10-7).
Klinkner and Slama reached the quarterfinals by defeating Fairmont's Kaitlin Bloomgren and Kelly Bloomgren, 6-1, 6-2.
During play-in singles action, Fairmont freshman Sydney Ruen downed Blue Earth Area's Mackenzie Lein, 6-1, 6-1, before Ruen lost a 6-1, 6-0 decision to No. 2-seeded Huber.
LSH's Chelsea Simek eliminated Blue Earth Area's Samantha Hogstad during play-in action, 6-1, 6-4, while USC's Ramsley ended Fairmont singles player Casey Paris' season with a 6-0, 6-1 round of 16 decision.
Both Hogstad and Paris made the transition from playing doubles during the regular season.
SECTION 2A INDIVIDUAL
GIRLS TENNIS MEET
At Swanson Tennis Center
At Gustavus Adolphus College
Singles Bracket
Play-In Matches: Cassie Schneider (Belle Plaine) d. Abby Rohlfing (LeCenter/ Cleveland/Montgomery-Lonsdale) 6-3, 6-1. Chelsea Simek (LeSueur-Henderson) d. Samantha Hogstad (Blue Earth Area), 6-1, 6-4. Stephanie Smith (Maple River) d. Kellie Schultz (Jordan) 6-3, 6-0. Sydney Ruen (Fairmont) d. Mackenzie Lein (Blue Earth Area), 6-1, 6-1.
1st Round: Heather Annis (Maple River) d. Schneider, 6-0, 6-0. Sidney Dirks (St. Peter) d. Courtney Nienaber (Sibley East) 6-0, 7-5. Ali Ramsley (United South Central) d. Casey Paris (Fairmont) 6-0, 6-1. Erin Zahler (Jordan) d. Simek, 6-0, 6-3. Maura Flaherty (Belle Plaine) d. S. Smith, 6-4, 6-3. Jenny Petricka (LeCenter/Cleveland/Montgomery-Lonsdale) d. Haleigh Korn (United South Central), 6-3, 6-0. Ashley Thomes (Sibley East) d. Bailey Plonske (LeSueur-Henderson) 6-4, 6-4. Katie Huber (St. Peter) d. Ruen, 6-1, 6-0.
Quarterfinals: Annis d. Dirks, 6-2, 6-1. Ramsley d. Zahler, 7-5, 6-2. Flaherty d. Petricka, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Huber d. Thomes, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles Bracket
Play-In Matches: MacKenzie Volz-Tabitha Woitas (Maple River) d. Mandy Sullivan-Cassie Schultz (LSH) 6-2, 6-1. Mallory Kapphahn-Brooke Moylan (Belle Plaine) d. Megan Kelly-Taylor Murry (LCC/ML) 6-3, 5-7, (10-4). Olivia Skaare-Jessica Skaare (Blue Earth Area) d. Megan Wenner-Bethann Cross (St. Peter) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), (10-7). Rachel Tenney-Hayley Grefe (Fairmont) d. Victoria Swiontek-Drew DeCorsey (Jordan) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, (10-3).
1st Round: Molly Yokiel-Kellie Robbins (USC) d. Volz-Woitas, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Jordan Kruger-Rosalea Klinkberg (Jordan) d. Becca Paine-Mackenzie Timm (Sibley East) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Jackie Klinkner-Emily Slama (Blue Earth Area) d. Kaitlin Bloomgren-Kelly Bloomgren (Fairmont) 6-1, 6-2. Tina Aarsvold-Taylor Volk (St. Peter) d. Kapphahn-Moylan, 6-2, 6-0. Anna Dreismane-Kayla Trocke (Sibley East) d. O. Skaare-J. Skaare, 6-0, 6-1. Megan DePree-Erin Seaver (LSH) d. Jenny Frederick-Danielle Steinborn (LCC/ML) 6-2, 6-3. Carolyn Schmitz-Cam Christians (USC) d. Kelsey Brandt-Rachel McDermand (Belle Plaine) 6-0, 6-1. Mandy Stencel-Sara Anderson (Maple River) d. Tenney-Grefe, 6-0, 6-1.
Quarterfinals: Yokiel-Robbins d. Kruger-Klinkberg, 6-1, 6-0. Aarsvold-Volk d. Klinkner-Slama, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Dreismane-Trocke d. DePree-Seaver, 6-4, 6-0. Stencel-Anderson d. Schmitz-Christians, 6-1, 6-0.
