Minot High junior Ava Thuner was 9-0 in singles play and 7-0 in doubles play during the WDA regular season. The Majettes are the No. 1 seed in the West Region Tournament and will play the winner of Bismarck St. Mary’s and Jamestown in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, May 21, at Hammond Park. Mike Kraft/MDN

Most coaches across all sports will say that success in the regular season doesn’t automatically equate to postseason success.

While true for all sports, no sport across the state of North Dakota looks more different come postseason time than high school tennis due to the format change that differs from the regular season.

Throughout the regular season, conference matches are played in a 6-3 format – six singles and three doubles matches where most players compete in both. In the postseason, the format switches to a 3-2 – three singles and two doubles – creating both a higher sense of importance and pressure on each individual match. While depth is still an important factor, it’s also about strength at the top of the roster.

Minot High possesses both, evident from its undefeated season and fifth consecutive WDA regular season title as well as its current five-year run dating back to the 2022 season in which the Majettes are 78-0 in the regular season, 12-0 in the WDA Tournament and 10-2 in the state tournament. Minot High captured its 16th WDA regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the WDA Tournament as it seeks its 16th title there as well. The Majettes played two matches this season against East Region opponents using the 3-2 format, sweeping both Fargo North and Fargo Davies.

The Majettes (16-0 overall, 9-0 WDA) cruised through conference play, sweeping six of their nine matches. They dropped just three individual matches in those duals. Their top four singles players – Kyllie Fettig, Ava Thuner, Grace Olson and Ella Sherven – all finished 9-0 in WDA play. Eight of their nine doubles pairings they used over the course of the WDA season didn’t lose a match. Olson and Thuner led all pairs with a 7-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Minot High will await the winner of No. 8 seed Bismarck St. Mary’s and No. 9 seed Jamestown for its quarterfinal match on Thursday, May 21, at Hammond Park.

The other play-in match pitches No. 7 Bismarck High against No. 10 Williston. Both play-in matches are scheduled for Monday, May 18, at the higher seed.

The winner of Bismarck High/Williston draws No. 2 seed Bismarck Century, which beat every opponent in its way outside of Minot High. The Patriots dropped a 4-3 non-conference match to the Majettes on the first day of the regular season and lost the conference matchup 8-1 on April 30. Century (15-2, 8-1) won the rest, claiming 59 of 66 individual matches in their eight other WDA tilts.

Kyla Jorgenson and Ava Dunlop led the Patriots with eight wins each at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, in conference play. The highlight for the Patriots this season was the play of their doubles teams, who swept eight WDA opponents. Jenna Pitcher and Jorgenson were 7-1 at No. 1 singles. The Patriots were 4-0 this season when playing the 3-2 format.

Dickinson – led by last year’s WDA Individual Tournament champion and state runner-up Shayna Klitzke – is the No. 3 seed and plays No. 6 seed Minot North in the opening round. The Mavericks won the regular season meeting, 5-4, back on April 14. The teams split singles play, with Dickinson taking two of three doubles matches.

The Mavericks (8-4, 6-3) earned the No. 3 seed via tiebreaker over Bismarck Legacy due to their 5-4 win on April 16.

Klitzke was 7-2 in conference play at No. 1 singles and was also 7-2 in doubles, bouncing between No. 1 with Grace Dazell and No. 2 with Natalie DeLange. Morgan Daiey went 5-4 at No. 2 singles. Erin Daley was a perfect 4-0 at No. 3 singles and 3-2 at No. 4 singles. The two Daley’s were 7-2 in doubles play.

The Sentinels (7-6, 4-4) find themselves in a bit of uncharted territory, not having to participate in a play-in match for the first time in program history. A tiebreaker over Bismarck High sent them to the quarterfinal round following a season where they set a new program record for overall wins and conference victories.

Julia Stoner led the Sentinels with six singles victories. Aliviah Kopp had five wins at No. 6 singles and Braxtyn Bennett won four matches at No. 5 singles. Bennett had a team-high six wins in doubles play, teaming up with Emersyn Kopp, Stoner and Aliviah Kopp.

No. 4 Bismarck Legacy and No. 5 Mandan round out the field. The Sabers (14-5, 6-3) bested the Braves, 6-3, on May 7, winning four singles matches and two doubles matches. Anna Martian had a team-high eight wins, while Calista Hosek won seven. Zoe Flemmer recorded a 6-0 record at No. 6 singles and Ava Flemmer won five matches.

Hailey Intveld led the Braves (8-9, 4-5) with a 7-2 record at No. 5 singles. Eva Benz was 5-4 at No. 1 singles.

Minot High, Century and Dickinson all enter the WDA Tournament with a winning streak of at least four matches.

Minot High, Century, Legacy and Mandan advanced to last year’s state tournament.