The Crookston Pirate girls tennis team won the six-team Crookston Pirate Booster/Carla Johnson Memorial Tournament on tennis courts throughout Crookston. Crookston won the team title with 14 points, one more than East Grand Forks. Crookston earned two first-place singles finishes, Ava Martin as the third singles player and the second-place doubles team with Georgia Sanders and Logan Brekken. “It was a great day of tennis,” said coach Gina Gunderson. “It was hot today, but most of the girls survived the day well and performed well.”

TEAM RESULTS –
1. Crookston – 14
2. East Grand Forks – 13
3. Hibbing-11
4. Detroit Lakes – 9
4. Wadena-Deer Creek – 9
6. Moorhead-7

MASTER
Ava Martin had a great day in third singles, winning all three matches by a combined score of 36-11. Her closest match was the championship match, when she defeated Gianna Manny of Hibbing 6-4, 6-4. “Ave is playing great tennis for us right now and had three great matches,” said coach Gunderson. “She was also able to beat the heat and play well.”
The other Pirate champions were the second doubles team of Logan Brekken and Georgia Sanders, who won all three matches. They won the first set 7-6, 6-3. The second match was another close match, with a 6-1, 7-5 victory. In the championship, they withstood the heat and their competition, beating a duo from East Grand Forks 7-5, 7-5. “They had so many close matches,” Coach Gunderson said. “They got along well, even though it was their first matches playing together.”

SECOND PLACE
Crookston reached second place once with the third doubles duo of Taylor Schultz, Madi Anderson, Emma LaPlante, Taylor Weiland, Chloe Boll and Lucy Smith. They won their first two matches, with the first ending in a third set tiebreaker 11-9. The second match was close again as they won the third set tiebreaker 10-5 to advance to the championship. It was not enough to win in the championship and they finished in second place. “We are working hard to put together our third doubles team and have a lot of girls competing for the spot, so today was a great opportunity to get some matches out to all of them,” said Coach Gunderson. “They played well.”

Third place
Ashlyn Bailey had a great day, going 2-1. She lost her first match 6-4, 6-4, won the second match against a girl from Hibbing 7-5, then her opponent had to forfeit because she got sick. Bailey finished the day strong in the third place match, dominating 6-1, 6-0. “Ashlyn hadn’t played singles since early last year and played well,” said Coach Gunderson. “She played really well and got better as the day went on.”
Emelia Hoerner and Mariah Overgaard played together in fourth singles and won the first match 6-2, 6-1. They lost the second match 6-4, 6-2. In the third place match, they beat Jaycie Sliper of Detroit Lakes 6-4, 6-1 to win the match. “Emelia played well and Maria played singles for the first time this year and played well,” said coach Gunderson.
The first doubles team of Kaylie Clauson and Addie Fee won their first match of the day by defeating a team from Moorhead 6-0, 6-0. They lost their second match to a very good team from Wadena-Deer Creek 6-2, 6-2. In the third place match they defeated a team from East Grand Forks 6-2, 6-4 to take third place. “Kaylie and Addie play well together, but today they faced a very good team from Wadena and Deer Creek,” said coach Gunderson. “They played a great third place game and finished with a great result.”

FOURTH PLACE
Paige Abrahamson of Crookston played first singles and had a great start to the day with a 6-3, 6-3 win over a girl from Detroit Lakes. In the second match, she led 6-0 against a girl from Moorhead before losing the second set 6-3. In the third set, she lost a heartbreaking 11-9. In the third place match, she lost 6-0, 6-2 and finished fourth. “Paige had a great start to the day,” said coach Gunderson. “I think the heat got to her a little bit, but she really stepped up and played well right away.”