The Valley City Hi-Liners defended home territory on Senior Day to defeat the Sheyenne Mustang 6-3 to claim their second consecutive EDC Regular Season Championship.

As has been the case all season, the Hi-Liners doubles unit propelled them to an early advantage, taking all three matches from the Mustangs. Seniors Abby Martineck and Breck Sufficool reunited for senior day, as they bounced back from their Invitational Loss last Saturday to defeat the previously undefeated Mustangs team of Alyssa Sommerfeld and Shireen Durrani in straight sets. Kailee Neilson and Georgia Zaun dominated their matchup, only dropping three games in their straight-sets win. At the same time, senior Alyssa Thomsen teamed up with eighth grader Skye Neilson to finish the doubles sweep with a pair of tight set wins (7-5, 7-6).

With the sweep in doubles, the Hi-Liners only needed a pair of wins in singles to clinch the EDC Championship. Valley City would surrender the first match of singles play by default after Sufficool pulled out with an injury. Head Coach Matt Neilson said, “We believed it was the right time to try her in the singles line-up again after dealing with some medical issues. However, Breck was strong and wise beyond her years, and she let us know after doubles that she shouldn’t do singles and defaulted the match.”

The proceeding five matches would see both sides exchanging wins, with neither side being able to run away from the other. The depth of the Hi-Liner squad would be tested after Abby Martineck fell in singles #3 to pull the Mustangs within striking distance of Valley City. Hi-Liner sophomore Georgia Zaun would be matched up with Sheyenne senior Sofia Layfield, with Zaun getting the best of Layfield early on, which paved the way for a straight-sets win.

With the win by Zaun and leading 4-3 overall, the Hi-Liners needed a win by either Kailee or Skye Neilson to win the championship. Both Valley City underclassmen would shine in their wins, with Kailee Neilson winning over Sommerfeld and coming up with clutch winners when pressed. Meanwhile, Skye Neilson took five set points to win the first set over Arni Banerjee but pulled away in the second by attacking and coming to the net, winning the match on an overhead smash.

With the win, the Hi-Liners secured their second consecutive EDC Regular Season Championship regardless of the outcome against the Wahpeton Huskies on Thursday. Coach Neilson gave his final thoughts on the match, saying, “The Mustangs were hoping to come into our house and win the championship this season, but we came to play. It has been an amazing run these last three years with this core group of players.”

The next matchup for the Hi-Liners will be Thursday in Wahpeton against the Huskies with the EDC regular season coming to a close afterwards.

 

Results: Valley City Listed First

Valley City 6

WFS 3

 

Singles:

1. Breck Sufficool lost to Sarea Gu in a walkover

2. Kailee Nielson defeated Alyssa Sommerfeld 6-3, 6-1

3. Abby Martineck lost to Shireen Durrani 6-0, 6-2

4. Georgia Zaun defeated Sofie Layfield 6-3, 6-4

5. Skye Nielson defeated Arni Banerjee 6-4, 6-3

6. Ella Olson lost to Anna Mauch 6-4, 6-0

 

Doubles:

1. Sufficool/Martineck defeated Sommerfeld/Durrani 7-5, 6-3

2. K. Nielson/Zaun defeated Gu/Layfield 6-1, 6-2

3. S. Nielson/Alyssa Thomsen defeated Mauch/Bre Heilman 7-5, 7-6(1)

 

Photos provided by Brent Thomsen