N.D. state girls tennis tournament: Fresh face to take on Red River

Grand Forks Red River will play for yet another state girls tennis title, but for the first time in a decade, the opponent will be different.

Bismarck Century, which had played in the state final for nine straight years, was knocked off by Fargo South 3-2 in the first round Thursday at Register Courts, highlighting the opening day of the North Dakota state tournament.

On the other side, the Roughriders took care of business, cruising to the state finals without dropping a match in either the quarterfinals or semifinals. They will be searching for their ninth straight team title at 9 a.m. today when they take on Bismarck High at Center Court Fitness Club.

"They're another western team who we don't really know a lot about," Red River coach Tim Wynne said. "We don't know many of their players.

"At least with Century, we knew some of their players from the year before. We knew who was coming back. But this Bismarck team, we don't know."

The Patriots, who beat Red River in 2001 before losing the next eight championship duals, were sent to consolation by a surprising foe. The Bruins, the No. 3 seed out of the East Region, used a key, three-set victory by No. 1 doubles team Anna and Brittany Diederich to advance to the semifinals for the first time in at least 13 years.

After splitting the first two sets, the cousins from Fargo started quickly in the third and held on, thanks in large part to a deuce-point volley by Brittany to go up 5-3 in the final set. The Bruins held serve to close out the first-round dual with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 win.

"I was very impressed with our No. 1 doubles team," South coach Jason Thiner said. "They stepped it up in the third set, knowing that it all came down to them."

South then lost to Red River 5-0, despite a strong push by the Bruins' No. 2 doubles team of Megan Hanekom and Laura McGuigan, who lost in three sets to Madison Hovland and Linnea Johnson. The Bruins will take on West Fargo for third.

As expected, Red River rolled through its competition with strong play from its top three singles players, who were first, second and third at the East Region tournament. Samantha Anderson played No. 1, followed by two-time state singles champ Callie Ronkowski and East Region singles champ Mimi Yunker.

"I'd say that they played solid," Wynne said. "We had a couple of glitches, but nothing big."

Reach Schlossman at (701) 780-1129; (800) 477-6572, ext. 129; or send e-mail to bschlossman@gfherald.com .

1/2: Red River number one singles player Samantha Anderson returns a serve in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota state team tennis tournament Thursday in Grand Forks. Herald photo by JOHN STENNES.

2/2: Red River's Mimi Yunker hits a backhand Thursday in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota state high school team tennis tournament in Grand Forks. Herald photo by JOHN STENNES.