Fairmont outlasts Blue Earth Area, advances to section championship
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FAIRMONT - It all came down to doubles. An area that Fairmont girls’ tennis head coach Laura Olsen consistently stresses was the difference-maker in her team's 5-2 Section 2A semifinal win over Blue Earth Area on Tuesday afternoon.
After losing the first set, duos Katherine Zelaya and Addison Toothaker and Malana Nigon and Ellena Laven fought back to secure comeback wins that punched Fairmont's ticket to Thursday's Section 2A championship against St. James.
"It was very exciting. We haven't had a ton of close matches this year where we are pushing and playing some third sets like that," Cardinals assistant coach Tim Slama said. "I haven't had to pace much, but I was pacing tonight, and it came down to the wire."
Fairmont had 12 days between competitions heading into Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers had five matches in that stretch, including one on Monday afternoon against River Valley in the Section 2A quarterfinals. Tim Slama thinks this caused some of his players to have slower starts.
Blue Earth Area No. 1 and No. 3 doubles - Brooklyn Rosenau and Elaena Schiltz/Emily Schrader and Emersen Weir - took over early in set one. Rosenau and Schiltz bested Zelaya and Toothaker 6-4, while Schrader and Weir outlasted Nigon and Laven 6-3.
It seemed that an initial game was all it took to get their footing. Zelaya and Toothaker looked confident and poised after taking set two 6-0. The tandem sealed the Cardinals’ match victory after securing their fourth team point with a 6-3 third-set score.
Nigon and Laven finished with 6-2 and 6-3 wins in sets two and three, grinding out each point until the final score was in their favor. This was the fifth Fairmont point of the night and concluded the match. A match tighter than what the final score read.
"I think we were just a little rusty [to begin]," Tim Slama said. "Really happy with how they responded when they started slow. They got back up to how we know they can play."
The other doubles pairing of Carly Gustafson and Ada Edmundson needed just two sets to win and take care of business. Gustafson and Edmundson toppled Amaya Ristau-Mensing and Natalie Schiltz in consecutive 6-3 sets.
Fairmont's No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, Allison Slama and Emelia Klanderud, did their parts early and often. Allison Slama was the first result to conclude after defeating Abigail Greff, 6-1, 6-1. Klanderud followed with her 6-0, 6-2 victory over Abby Loraz.
Ella Dresselhaus and Cadleigh Jobe were defeated in No. 3 and No. 4 singles. Dresselhaus lost in consecutive 6-2 sets to Ella Swanson. After losing set one to Jessi James, 6-2, Jobe pushed her opponent in set two, but ultimately lost 6-3.
Fairmont and St. James will face this Thursday in the Section 2A championship. The match is set for 10:00 a.m. at the Owatonna High School tennis courts. With Tuesday's win, the Cardinals are now 15-2 this fall.
"We got the win, and that was the most important thing," Tim Slama said. "We are really excited to be in the section championship. That was the goal all year. We are going to make St. James work hard for it and go from there."