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BEA’s Dutton-Stevermer net 1-1 record at state tennis meet

MINNEAPOLIS — Blue Earth Area’s doubles combination of McKenna Dutton and Macie Stevermer, along with St. James Area singles netter Renata Hernandez, compiled 1-1 records at the Class A individual state tennis meet Thursday.

Le Sueur-Henderson’s Kylie Dunning and Erica Cronk squeezed out a 6-4 opening-set victory over Dutton and Stevermer during first-round action at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis before the Bucs’ duo generated a comeback.

Dutton and Stevermer shifted into high gear to capture the second and third sets, 6-3 and 6-1, respectively, to advance to the state quarterfinals.

No. 1-seeded Clare Palen and Natalie Allison of Rochester Lourdes, the defending Class A state champions, ended Stevermer and Dutton’s individual state experience via a 6-1, 6-0 win.

In singles action, Hernandez opened her fifth and final prep state tournament by coasting to back-to-back 6-1 set victories over Annandale’s Jennah Groth in first-round action.

The No. 10-ranked Hernandez, who helped guide St. James Area to a fourth-place showing in the state team meet Wednesday, lost a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal decision to unranked eighth-grade phenom Allison Jay. Jay helped lead The Blake School to the Class A state team championship only 24 hours earlier at the Reed-Sweatt facility.

Blue Earth Area sophomore Te’a Armstrong, who was the Section 3 runner-up to Hernandez, lost a 6-4, 6-0 opening-round state singles match to Park Rapids Area senior Natalie Kinkel on Thursday.

Armstrong then locked up in a marathon consolation quarterfinal clash with Rochester Lourdes’ Ryann Witter. Armstrong pocketed a 6-3 first-set decision before Witter squeezed by the Buc netter in the second set via a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreaker to create a supertiebreaker. Witter outlasted Armstrong in an incredible 17-15 segment to reach Day 2.

In doubles action, St. James Area’s doubles team of Zoie Becker and Ellie Becker opened state play with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Virginia’s Anna Seitz and Ava Warren.

Lake City’s tandem of Ashley Thieren and Ava Wallerich then eliminated the Becker siblings in the consolation quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-2.

In today’s Class A individual state semifinals at Reed-Sweatt, The Blake School’s Arlina Shen — the three-time state runner-up — faces Litchfield’s Elise Bierbaum in an 8 a.m. semifinal, while Jay of The Blake School faces Trinity School at River Ridge’s Katie Mulvey in the other singles semifinal.

In doubles semifinal action at 8 a.m. today, top-seeded Palen and Allison square off against No. 4-seeded Eveleth-Gilbert’s Audrey Delich and Lydia Delich, while No. 2-seeded Shanna Kinny and Avery Stilwell of Litchfield take on No. 3-seeded Sonia Baig and Bella Suk of The Blake School.

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