VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) The Hi-Liner girls tennis program is hanging a banner.
Valley City claimed the first Eastern Dakota Conference championship of head coach Matt Nielson’s coaching tenure, either boys or girls, with a 5-4 win over West Fargo Sheyenne Friday in West Fargo.
Nielson has coached 34 seasons of Hi-Liner boys and girls tennis.
The Hi-Liners had to defeat a previously unbeaten Mustang squad, and they did so in a way not traditional to Hi-Liner tennis.
Valley City was singles-heavy.
A normally doubles-reliant Hi-Liner program one only one doubles match, with Kailee Nielson and Georgia Zaun grinding out a tiebreak in the first set to edge Sarea Gu and Sofie Layfield 7-6 (5), 6-2.
After dropping number-one and two singles, there was no additional room for error, but Valley City swept 3-6 singles for the 5-4 win.
Kailee Nielson and Zaun won at three and four singles, respectively, with Abby Redfearn winning a tight 6-4, 6-3 win at five singles, and Skye Nielson capping the day with a three set (6-2, 4-6, 6-0) win at six singles to secure the title.
It was the first time in Matt Nielson’s career that a Hi-Liner team won a dual in the 6-3 format when dropping two doubles matches.
“We have been such a good doubles team, that losing more than one doubles match has meant eminent doom,” said Coach Nielson.
Redfearn’s win at number-five singles was noteworthy. In duals with the top half of the EDC, Redfearn had not scored a win, dropping her singles matches with Red River, Davies and Central.
Redfearn winning in straight sets tied the dual at 4-4, keeping the match alive for Valley City. Had she dopped the match, the Hi-Liners would have finished as a four-seed in the EDC tournament, instead of the top seed that will take with the league title.
Coach Nielson said Skye Nielson had to play through tight pressure.
“At this time, all eyes were on them,” Coach Nielson explained of the third set between Skye Nielson and her opponent. “Both teams came out to the court next to them to watch. Skye moved her feet more, attacked more, and was more consistent in the third set to clinch the league title for her team.”
Skye Nielson, a seventh-grader, won the set 6-0.
Coach Nielson described winning the title as unreal, as the Hi-Liners had to run a gauntlet in the final week of the season following their loss to Grand Forks Central last week. Valley City defeated Fargo Davies, last year state champions, Grand Forks Red River, a perennial favorite in the league and statewide, and undefeated Sheyenne in consecutive matches.
Valley City will take the top seed into the 3-2 formatted EDC tournament next week in Fargo.