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Armstrong powers Bucs to BSC title

For the second straight year, Te’a Armstrong is helping lead the Class A No. 6-ranked Blue Earth Area Bucs from the No. 1 singles position in tennis.

“She’s always there to help out,” BEA head coach Konny Wolff said of Armstrong. “She’s a great asset for the younger girls. She’s a great leader and she sets great examples for the younger ones.”

Now as a junior, Armstrong has taken the lead as one of the long-tenured varsity players, but she was once one of the young ones in the Bucs’ organization. Armstrong started playing tennis with BEA as a seventh-grader.

She’s now in her third year as a singles player, after playing in the fourth singles position in the lineup as a freshman in 2017. That year, Armstrong went undefeated in dual matches (17-0) and joined forces with then-senior Julia Hanson, after never playing doubles together, to qualify for the Class A individual state tournament.

Hanson and Armstrong earned a 4-1 record in Section 3A play to finish second in the bracket.

Armstrong’s undefeated dual-meet season helped lead the Bucs to a 17-4 record and a state team appearance in 2017.

The following year, Armstrong appeared at the state tournament once again, this time as a singles player.

Armstrong entered the Section 3A singles tournament as the No. 3-seeded player and bested her seeding, placing second to advance to the state tournament.

Rochester Lourdes’ Ryann Witter knocked her out of the state tournament in a marathon match, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), (17-15).

Armstrong said what she enjoyed most about the 2018 Class A individual state tennis tournament was being with friends.

“I got to be with my teammates (McKenna Dutton and Macie Stevermer) because they went to state as a doubles team,” Armstrong said. “I got to go with them and it was a cool experience.”

Armstrong said her relationships with her teammates is one of her favorite aspects of playing tennis for BEA. She said the team is like a family.

While Armstrong spends her fall season with her tennis family, she stays busy in the winter and spring playing on the BEA basketball team and running for the Bucs’ track squad, respectively.

Armstrong said she doesn’t have a favorite among the three sports.

“It just depends on the season,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said she believes each of the three sports helps her get better at the other two, mostly because of improved conditioning, which she said is one of her key strengths on the tennis court.

Wolff had a different idea about Armstrong’s main attribute.

“I think her biggest strength is how calm she stays,” Wolff said. “Sometimes you can never tell if she’s winning or losing because she’s very calm and never gets down on herself and fights until the end.”

While it might be hard to tell if Armstrong is winning or losing when watching her play, she hasn’t done much losing this season.

Armstrong has earned a 16-2 record mostly playing as the Bucs’ top singles player, with one match played with Arika Howard at first doubles, to help the Bucs to a 17-1 record on the season.

Armstrong continued her individual success this season with a 7-5, 6-4 win over St. James Area’s Ellie Becker at No. 1 singles during the Big South Conference championship, while she helped the team continue its season success with a 6-1 win over the No. 7-ranked Saints on Thursday after the match was delayed from Tuesday because of lightning and rain.

The win gave the Bucs the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Section 3A team tournament and put Blue Earth Area at the top of the BSC for the second time in three seasons.

Armstrong credits the season success to the connection among teammates.

“I really like our team, we have a really good connection,” Armstrong said. “And our coaches help us a lot. I just like our team, it’s full of fun people.”

While the team is full of good kids, Wolff said Armstrong is one of the best, not just in how she sets examples, but in her ability to take coaching to heart.

“I’d take 12 of her if I could,” Wolff said with a laugh. “She does everything you ask of her, she’s always the last one on the bus, she’s always checking the bus, making sure everything is clean.

“She’s very polite, willing to take any criticism or constructive criticism to improve her game. She’s a very easy girl to coach and she’s great to have on the team.”

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