Minot North's Julia Stoner returns a shot during her singles match against Williston on Monday, April 13, at Cameron Indoor Tennis Center. Mike Kraft/MDN

Entering this season, all of the victories in the short history of the Minot North girls tennis team have come against the same team: Jamestown.

The Sentinels have now expanded that win sheet to include a second team. Minot North swept all three doubles matches and added wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles in a 6-1 victory over Williston in a non-conference match at Cameron Indoor Tennis Center on Monday, April 13. All six victories came in straight sets.

“Getting a win is always nice no matter what, but yes getting a win against a team we haven’t beat in the past was nice,” Minot North coach Gwen Erickson said. “It shows the girls how we can go out and compete in every match.”

Abby Maerk and Grace Lee dominated their matches at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively. The pair dropped just one set between the two of them, with Maerk winning 6-0, 6-0 over Katelyn Hanig. Lee posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Stella Jorgenson.

Julia Stoner delivered the other singles victory, posting a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Dani Tinklenberg at No. 2 singles.

“Overall we were pretty proud of the way the girls played,” Erickson said. Everyone went out and competed. “I was looking for the girls to go out and compete on their court. With this being our first match in almost 11 months, there is always going to be opportunities to learn, but we saw a lot of good things from our team today.”

Minot North’s doubles teams won 36 of 43 sets played. Kate Weishaar and Emersyn Kopp paired together at No. 1 doubles and registered a 6-2, 6-1 win against Frances Mansibang and Massa Kpan.

Weishaar and Stoner were two players who stood out the most to Erickson.

“I was really impressed with the way Kate Weishaar and Julia Stoner played today,” Erickson said. “They both had great mindsets through the match and kept themselves in points by staying consistent and constantly hustling after balls.”

Kopp’s younger sister Alyviah also posted a victory alongside Braxtyn Bennett at No. 2 doubles. The duo made quick work of Aslyn Engl and Kienna Scott, 6-1, 6-0. The Sentinels completed the doubles sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 victory thanks to their youngest pairing of eighth graders Tori Arsenault and Kinley Torbit.

The Sentinels (1-1) plan on using a number of different doubles combinations throughout the season.

“We played some different combinations today, since we haven’t gotten much playing experience in doubles yet this season,” Erickson said. “As far as set lineups, I would say we are still working on finding the perfect matchups for each player.”

The Sentinels closed out the day with a 6-1 loss to Bismarck Century. Alyviah Kopp posted the lone victory for Minot North, besting Aubrey Althoff, 6-2, 6-4, in No. 4 singles.

Bennett forced a third-set against Annika Carlson, winning the opening set, but ultimately fell 3-6, 6-2, 10-6 at No. 3 singles. Emersyn Kopp took Kyla Jorgenson to a second-set tiebreaker, but Jorgenson won all but one point to sweep the match.

The Patriots won all three doubles matches in straight sets.

“Some things that we can improve on is just our movement during matches and being ready for the ball,” Erickson said. “With being inside for the start of the season, we haven’t had much game plan scenarios, so I expect that to improve as the season goes on.”

The Sentinels will head outdoors for their next match when they open their conference schedule at home against Dickinson on Tuesday, April 14, at 1 p.m. at Hammond Park.

Monday was supposed to feature all the WDA teams converging on the Magic City for the annual Minot Round Robin at Hammond Park, but weather forced its cancellation. Instead, Minot North and Minot High hosted Williston and Century, who made the trip nonetheless. Williston went 0-2 and Century finished 1-1.