STATE QUALIFIERS — Fairmont’s Hope Klanderud (right) reaches out to crank a forehand winner during Section 2A Individual Meet semifinal tennis action as doubles partner Anika Haugen backs up the play on Wednesday at the Swanson Tennis Center on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus in St. Peter. Klanderud and Haugen later qualified for the Class A state doubles meet. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)
ST. PETER — Fairmont’s doubles tandem of Hope Klanderud and Anika Haugen, and Blue Earth Area singles players Addison Armstrong and Olivia Dutton extended their prep tennis seasons for two more weeks.
Armstrong defeated Dutton for the Section 2 Individual Meet’s singles championship on Wednesday at the Swanson Tennis Center on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus in St. Peter, while Klanderud and Haugen fended off a true-second challenge inside “the indoor bubble” to qualify for the Class A state competition Oct. 27-28.
Klanderud and Haugen will hit the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center’s courts in Minneapolis at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, while Armstrong and Dutton each open first-round state singles play at 8 a.m. that day. The Class A individual state tennis meet concludes on Friday, Oct. 28. The area four players’ respective state opponents will be determined after the completion of the rest of the sectional individual meets.
“There’s a good chemistry between Hope and Anika when they play doubles together on the court, and they’re also good friends away from the court,” said Fairmont head coach Laura Olsen. “They really know how to communicate with one another and that’s so important to having success.”
Klanderud and Haugen combined strategic talk with endline-to-alley-to-net coverage to serve a 7-5, 6-1 semifinal sectional loss to Maple River opponents Ally Mersman and Madison Ward on Wednesday morning.
St. James Area’s Allison Bluedorn and Keyana Haler then advanced to the gold-medal match against Klanderud and Haugen by posting a 7-5, 6-2 semifinal triumph over Maple River’s Kelsey Jaeger and Macy Sohre.
Bluedorn, who captured a sectional bronze medal during the 2021 doubles tournament, and Haler recorded a pivotal service break in Game 9 of the championship clash’s opening set to notch a 6-3 victory over Klanderud and Haugen.
Fairmont’s hard-hitting duo trailed by one game throughout the entire second set until Bluedorn’s strong forehand and Haler’s seam-finding blasts edged Haugen and Klanderud by a 6-4 decision to capture the Section 2 doubles crown.
“I was so close to qualifying for state last year, so it feels great to get there this time,” said Bluedorn.
Jaeger and Sohre then outlasted Maple River teammates Mersman and Ward in the third-place match, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), to create a true-second challenge match for Klanderud and Haugen.
“When you lose in the finals, it’s a bit of an emotional letdown, but Hope and Anika responded to the challenge for the right to go to state and did it,” said Olsen.
Klanderud, who played No. 1 singles throughout the regular season, displayed her improved serve, while Haugen, the Cardinals’ regular No. 1 doubles netter, demonstrated her skills at hitting winners in the alleys and gaps.
Klanderud and Haugen served a 6-3 first-set loss to Jaeger and Sohre during the true-second challenge clash to seize the early momentum.
Jaeger and Sohre, however, countered in the second set by building a 4-3 lead before Klanderud and Haugen reeled off three consecutive game wins to pocket a 6-4 set win to clinch a trip to the state meet.
In sectional singles action, Armstrong rallied from a 3-0 opening-set deficit to St. James Area’s Maya Kulseth en route to a 6-4 triumph in semifinal play.
Armstrong, who qualified for the 2019 Class A state team meet at third doubles as an eighth-grader, then reeled off six consecutive second-set game wins to gain Wednesday’s sectional singles finale.
Dutton, who teamed with former Buc standout Kylie Rosenau to net fourth place in the 2021 sectional doubles meet, displayed her mettle by rebounding from a 5-4 first-set deficit to St. James Area’s Eva Romsdahl in their semifinal.
Dutton notched a clutch break in Game 11 for a 6-5 lead before Romsdahl forced a first-set tiebreaker at 6-all. Dutton then claimed the opening frame’s tiebreaker 7-6 (7-0).
After building second-set leads of 4-1 and 5-2 over Romsdahl, Dutton carried only a 5-4 lead into Game 10, but pulled off the win to gain the sectional finale against Armstrong.
“We practice every day against each other, so we know one another’s strengths and weaknesses. It just came down to who hit the winning shot at the right time today,” said Dutton.
Armstrong struck gold by outdueling her Buc teammate, 7-5, 6-2, in the singles championship match.
Romsdahl defeated Kulseth in a third-place battle of St. James Area teammates, 6-0, 6-3, but did not net a true-second challenge since Dutton defeated her in the semifinals earlier Wednesday.