Minot High poses with the WDA Tournament championship trophy and banner following their victory over Bismarck Century on Thursday, May 21, at Cameron Indoor Courts. The Majettes won their fifth consecutive WDA Tournament title and 16th overall. Photo Provided by Minot High girls tennis

The Minot High girls tennis team couldn’t be beaten during the regular season and it mirrored that success in the postseason, sweeping all three matches to capture its fifth consecutive WDA Dual Tournament and 16th overall on Thursday, May 21, at both Cameron Indoor Courts and Hammond Park.

It’s the seventh time in program history that the Majettes have gone undefeated in WDA play during both the regular season and WDA Tournament.

The Majettes dropped just a pair of sets in doubles during their 5-0 victories against Bismarck St. Mary’s, Bismarck Legacy and Bismarck Century. Minot High has 13 match sweeps this season, including seven straight.

‘It’s fun and it’s exciting and it’s cool,” Minot High coach Scott DeLorme said. “There’s a couple of new girls involved that played. We’ve just set a bar that the state tournament is now what we’re chasing. We’re very happy and very proud of the success we’ve had in the West Region.”

Kyllie Fettig, Ava Thuner and McKenna Odahlen served as the three singles players for the tournament opener against the Saints, while Grace Olson and Ella Sherven teamed up at No. 1 doubles and Alivia Sherven and Kyndal McNichols were the second pairing.

Olson played No. 3 singles for the matches against Legacy and Century, moving Odahlen to No. 1 singles with Ella Sherven. Sydney Brown paired with Alivia Sherven against Legacy before McNichols returned with Alivia Sherven in the title match against the Patriots.

‘I thought we played really well all day long, especially considering the situation as the day went on,” DeLorme said. “We played a few different doubles combinations at No. 2 doubles, but our top six girls, as they have all year, played extremely well. They were focused from the minute they got to the court.”

Fettig and Thuner won all three of their singles matches in straight sets. Fettig bested St. Mary’s Kate Wilson, 6-0, 6-1, Legacy’s Anna Martian, 6-0, 6-1, and Century’s Jenny Pitcher, 6-4, 6-1. Thuner defeated St. Mary’s Paige Haas, 6-1, 6-0, Legacy’s Danica Grossman, 6-0, 6-0, and Century’s Kyla Jorgenson, 6-1, 6-2.

Odahlen claimed her lone singles match against St. Mary’s Svea Dirk, 6-1, 6-2. Olson secured the other two wins at No. 3 singles, topping Legacy’s Zoe Flemmer, 6-1, 6-2, and Century’s Ava Dunlop, 6-2, 6-4.

Odahlen and Ella Sherven had the match of the day against Legacy’s Joya Marian and Ava Flemmer. The Majettes (19-0) dropped the opening set before winning the final two tightly contested sets, 4-6, 7-6, 14-12. The only other three-set match for Minot High came at No. 2 doubles against the Patriots, with Alivia Sherven and McNichols coming away with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win against Kate Splonskowski and Brooklyn Roemmich.

“We’ve played in these matches many times and I think that experience was a big thing,” DeLorme said. “When matches did get close or points got tough, we generally rose to the occasion and won those big points.”

Minot North’s season ends with state-qualifier loss to Saints

The day started with optimism and excitement following its quarterfinal upset victory over Dickinson, but it ended with heartbreak for Minot North, losing its final two matches including a 3-2 loss to No. 8 St. Mary’s in a state qualifier.

The Sentinels (8-8) won their first WDA quarterfinal match in program history with a 3-2 victory over the Mavericks. Minot North ended doubles play trailing, but got a pair of wins from No. 1 doubles Kate Weishaar and Emersyn Kopp, and No. 2 doubles Braxtyn Bennett and Abby Maerk.

Julia Stoner won Minot North’s lone singles match against Dickinson, topping Morgan Daley, 6-3, 6-4.

Bismarck Century dropped Minot North into a state qualifier after sweeping them in the semifinals, setting up a win-and-in situation with the Saints, who the Sentinels had beaten during the regular season.

Addy Clark and Stoner won their matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Clark took down Tessa Rykowsky, 6-2, 6-2, and Stoner bested Paige Haas, 6-3, 6-1. Svea Dirk defeated Alyviah Kopp, 6-4, 6-4, leaving the match in the hands of the doubles teams.

The Saints came away victorious in both doubles matches. Kate Wilson and Sophia Link defeated Weishaar and Emersyn Kopp, 4-6, 6-2, 12-10, and Ramona Heick and Evelyn Kincaid topped Bennett and Maerk, 6-1, 6-3.

“The Minot North coaches, they played for us, they coached for us, they’ve put in so much time to help those kids and make that a program,” DeLorme said. “It’s a program that’s only going to get better. During our championship match, we were probably following their match more than ours at some points, so we’re gutted for them. They were so close.”

St Mary’s advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2022. Along with Minot High and Century, Bismarck Legacy also earned a berth, defeating Dickinson in the other state qualifier.