POWERING UP ­— Fairmont’s Ellie Plumhoff hammers a forehand return as third doubles partner Claire Brockmann watches the shot during Big South Conference tennis action against Pipestone Area on Monday at the Cardinal Courts in Fairmont. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Fairmont combined functional footwork with fun footwear to exit the Cardinal Courts on Monday with a 5-2 Big South Conference dual-meet girls tennis victory over the Pipestone Area Arrows.

Ellie Plumhoff, who donned her trademark cow slippers after the completion of her match, and third doubles partner Claire Brockmann synchronized their court skills to help the hometown Cardinals grab the early “moo-mentum” on the team ledger.

Plumhoff and Brockmann needed only a baker’s-dozen worth of games to defeat Addison Draper and Iva Witte, 6-1, 6-0, and stake Fairmont to a 1-0 lead.

Elly Stegge then flip-flopped her third doubles teammates’ final score — 6-0, 6-1 — to net the winning decision over Olivia Weber at No. 4 singles.

Stegge coasted to nine consecutive game wins before dropping Game 10 only to reel off three more to ice the team tally.

Hope Klanderud, who utilized her sister Emelia’s 2022 tennis shoes after wearing out her original pair earlier this fall, required the minimum dozen games to produce FHS’ third point.

Hope Klanderud hit winners from both the forehand and backhand sides, as well as collecting points via the power game and her array of precision drop shots, to down Brielle Kulm, 6-0, 6-0, at first singles.

Emelia Klanderud and Madi Peyman then generated the meet-clinching point during first doubles action. Klanderud and Peyman tallied back-to-back 6-3 set wins over Alyssa Enger and Madison Purdin.

Klanderud and Peyman notched a pivotal service break at 4-1 in their opening set to pull away for the win. The Cardinals’ No. 1 tandem then bounced back from an early 1-0 second-set deficit to capture six of the next eight games to net the fourth team tally.

Abi Peyman then joined her sibling in the winner’s circle by outdueling the Arrows’ Jenna Boeke at second singles via back-to-back 6-3 winning sets.

Peyman trailed 2-1 early in the initial segment only to break two games later to grab the momentum.

Abi Peyman and Boeke slugged it out to 4-3 in the second set before the Fairmont co-captain netted a key break to claim a 6-3 win in the decisive ninth game.

Fairmont’s second doubles team of Jaydan Moses and Carly Gustafson battled back-and-forth to the hard-fought end, but eventually lost narrow back-to-back 7-5 sets to Vivian Brockberg and Alicia Haack at second doubles.

Moses and Gustafson built narrow leads of 3-2 and 4-3 in the opening set, but Brockberg and Haack made a valid comeback to win four of the next five games for the winning decision.

Brockberg and Haack then clung to a one-game lead during each change-over before eventually breaking to claim another 7-5 decision in the second set.

Jasmine Boeke then fended off Brynn Gustafson during third singles action, 6-3, 6-1 to account for the Arrows’ other team point.

“We had the opportunity to try another different lineup and see how the girls played with some of their other teammates today,” said Fairmont head coach Lauren Olsen. “It never hurts to add some versatility and flexibility to your lineup the closer you get to the postseason.”

Fairmont (8-2) plays host to River Valley at 4:30 p.m. today, while Pipestone Area plays hosts Redwood Valley.

Fairmont 5, Pipestone 2

Singles Bracket

• Hope Klanderud (FMT) def. Brielle Kulm, 6-0, 6-0.

• Abi Peyman (FMT) def. Jenna Boeke, 6-3, 6-3.

• Jasmine Boeke (PIPE) def. Brynn Gustafson, 6-3, 6-1.

• Elly Stegge (FMT) def. Olivia Weber, 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles Bracket

• Emelia Klanderud-Madi Peyman (FMT) def. Alyssa Enger-Madison Purdin, 6-3, 6-3.

• Vivian Brockberg-Alicia Haack (PIPE) def. Jaydan Moses-Carly Gustafson, 7-5, 7-5.

• Ellie Plumhoff-Claire Brockmann (FMT) def. Addison Draper-Iva Witte, 6-1, 6-0.