Minot High’s Grace Olson prepares to backhand a shot during her doubles match with Ava Thuner in a match against Bismarck Century on Thursday, April 30, at Hammond Park. Olson and Thuner defeated Jenny Pitcher and Kyla Jorgenson, 6-2, 7-5. Mike Kraft/MDN

With sole possession of first place in the WDA standings on the line, the Minot High girls tennis team solidified its spot atop the conference before it took the court for doubles play.

The Majettes won five of their six singles matches to put the contest out of reach and swept doubles play for good measure for an 8-1 win over Bismarck Century on Thursday, April 30, at Hammond Park. Both teams entered the match as the last remaining unbeaten teams in conference play.

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Minot High senior Kyllie Fettig said. “We came in today knowing there were going to be some tough matches, but I feel like we were all ready to compete and ready to get it going. They are a really solid team and we know it was going to be competitive across the board, but it’s a lot of fun.”

In a rematch of last year’s WDA Tournament title match — also an 8-1 victory for the Majettes – Minot High posted victories in its top five singles matches. The overall match was much closer than the final score indicated, as four of the six singles matches required a third set, with Minot High coming out on top in three of four.

“It definitely was our toughest competition to date,” Minot High coach Scott DeLorme said. “We’re going to leave with an 8-1 win, which we are very happy with, but four of the six singles matches went to three sets, so when you go three sets, a lot can happen there, but I thought our girls did a really good job.”

The Majettes (9-0 overall, 5-0 WDA) have won 31 straight matches and haven’t dropped a WDA contest since the 2021 season.

Ella Sherven dropped her first set at No. 4 singles before winning the final two sets for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory against Annika Carlson. Sherven improved to 5-1 this season.

Grace Olson and McKenna Odahlen also delivered three-set victories for the Majettes. Both won their opening sets before being forced to a decisive third set. Olson defeated Ava Dunlop, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles and Odahlen bested Kate Splonskowski, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 5 singles. Olson and Odahlen handed their opponents their first singles losses of the season while picking up their seventh and sixth wins, respectively. It was Olson’s first three-set match of the season.

“Century is a really competitive team and it was fun to go out there and play,” Olson said. “We weren’t really sure what it was going to look like, but we know that if we go out and play and do our best, hopefully the odds will be in our favor.”

Fettig and Ava Thuner also remained undefeated in singles competition this season, both winning in straight sets in rematches from Minot High’s non-conference match against the Patriots during the first weekend of the regular season.

Fettig won her match against Jenny Pitcher at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-4, fresh off her victory against WDA champion and state runner up Shayna Klitzke of Dickinson on Tuesday. Klitzke won all three matchups with Fettig last season.

“It definitely felt nice,” Fettig said. “I feel like I did a really good job of playing my game and keeping my head on straight. That definitely does help with my confidence and then with coming into today’s match with it being a big match, it’s definitely helpful.”

Ava Thuner earned her team-leading ninth singles victory with the most decisive outcome of the day, winning 6-1, 6-1 over Kyla Jorgenson. She defeated Jorgenson, 6-1, 6-2, in their first meeting.

“It puts us in a good spot,” Thuner said. “Today was definitely going to be a test to see where we’re really at in the West. It was good to see how they play and what they are going to bring to the table when it comes to the West Region Tournament.”

Sophia Edland provided the Patriots (7-2, 4-1) their lone singles win, beating Alivia Sherven, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The Majettes were 3-1 in three-set matches against the Patriots, the most they have played in a single contest this season.

“It’s nice to play them and it’s nice to win them,” DeLorme said. “It’s only going to strengthen what we do down the road if we get in that situation, which we will without a doubt, whether it’s the team tournament or the individual tournament.”

The Majettes won all three doubles matches in straight sets. The closest match came at No. 1 doubles involving Thuner and Olson going against Pitcher and Jorgenson. The Century duo took the opening game of the first set before the Majettes won six of the final seven games.

Thuner and Olson fell behind 5-4 in the second set, but avoided a potential third set by claiming the final three games of the match for a 6-2, 7-5 victory.

“Staying aggressive at the net really helps you with your momentum,” Olson said. “Staying positive and next-point minded even if you lose the last one.”

Fettig and Ella Sherven toppled Dunlop and Edland at No. 2 doubles, 6-3, 6-2, and Odahlen and Alivia Sherven recorded a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Carlson and Sponskowski at No. 3 doubles.

Thursday’s match featured five all-state players with Fettig, Thuner, Olson, Pitcher and Dunlop, as well as Jorgenson, who was an all-WDA selection.

As the calendar flips to May and the season heads into its final month, the Majettes feel like they are rounding into form. Minot High has dropped just six of their 68 individual matches in their first nine contests of the season and are 43-2 in 45 individual matches during WDA matchups.

“We feel like we’re close,” DeLorme said. “We know we can still get better, which is a pretty cool thing. From the time we played Century in the 4-3 non-conference match in the very first match of the year, I just think we’re a different team. We have so many different combinations we can throw at teams. I’ll go as far as saying we have nine girls we think can play for us at tournament time. Our depth is starting to show a little bit.”

The Majettes take a brief break from conference play to compete against the East Region for the first time this season. Minot High will play a neutral-court match against West Fargo Sheyenne on Saturday, May 2, at 1 p.m. in Bismarck.