There are only six tennis courts in Roseau. There are no indoor tennis facilities, no tennis teaching professionals, nor are private lessons available.
There are, however, a lot of quality tennis players in Roseau.
Roseau repeated as champion Friday in the Minnesota Section 8A dual high school girls tournament. The Rams beat East Grand Forks Senior High 4-0 in the championship. The dual was stopped when the Rams clinched the win with their fourth match win.
Roseau, 13-2, advances to the state tournament in the Twin Cities later this month.
Roseau coach Jack Swanson has a down-to-basics reason for his team's success.
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"They're just very good athletes," Swanson said. "And I think they enjoy playing the game. They've learned to play it correctly."
Almost all the Rams' varsity players are multi-sport athletes. Amanda Monkman and Amy Olson have verbally committed to play hockey at St. Cloud State. Junior Abby Ness also figures to get DI interest in hockey, and Swanson said other hockey players could draw the interest of colleges. Ingrid Mlodzik has been a third-place finisher in breakaway roping in the state rodeo.
Monkman estimates that maybe two of her teammates would rank tennis as their No. 1 sport. "It's something for us to do," Monkman said. "You have to do something with your time -- it might as well be in another sport. We like tennis; it's a fun sport.
"None of us have great form. Our goal is to get the ball over the net, hit it hard, and try to keep it away from the other player."
That game plan worked well Friday. Including the 6-1 semifinal win against Park Rapids, Roseau lost only two sets all day in the dual competition. Success comes without a year-round approach to the sport; for most of the Rams, tennis is in-season only.
"A few of them hit around once in awhile in the summer,'' Swanson said. "But it isn't drills or hitting against a ball machine; they're doing it for fun. I'd bet the hockey players spend more time on the ice during the summer than they do on the tennis courts.
"We have good players. The girls raise each other's level of play in practice. They're tremendously competitive kids. And if you don't raise your game, if you don't get better, practices will get pretty long going against the other girls."
Senior High advanced with a 4-3 semifinal win against Crookston. The Green Wave's Jessamy Jones rallied for a 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-1 win over Hayley Myrold at No. 1 singles to break a 3-3 tie.
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"Jessamy had a great performance -- bar none, the best high school match she's played," said Senior High coach Jim Wyatt, whose team finished 7-6. "She kept the ball in play and came up with some amazing shots.
"But Roseau is really good. I knew it would be a tough one for us."
