Valley City could not add any individual EDC titles to go along with their team championship over the weekend, but the Hi-Liners still had a more fruitful weekend in Fargo.

The defending state champions in doubles, Abby Martineck and Breck Sufficool, had a bye in the first round and breezed their way into the semi-finals. Their opponent in the semi-finals would be none other than their teammates Kailee Nielson and Georgia Zaun, who, after a first-round bye, also put together a pair of impressive victories.

The senior Hi-Liner tandem of Martineck and Sufficool would get the better of their younger Hi-Liner counterparts as they rolled to a 6-0 first-set win before finally putting them away with a 6-4 win in the second set to reach the EDC Championship. Martineck and Sufficool would meet up with a familiar foe in the Sheyenne team of Alyssa Sommerfeld and Shireen Durrani. This time, the Mustangs would finally get the better of the Hi-Liners as Sommerfeld and Durrani won a pair of close sets to take the EDC Championship.

Georgia Zaun and Kailee Nielson also lost their final matchup of the day, as the Shanley Deacon pairing of Madeline Abbott and Mary Wolf came back after dropping the first set to take the third-place match. Despite the losses, all four of the Hi-Liners doubles players still managed to qualify for state, and all four also made the All-EDC Team. This is the first time that Valley City has had four All-EDC selections in the same year.

In singles play, Alyssa Thomsen and Ella Olson could not rally after their early setbacks to secure state qualification, leaving 8th grader Skye Neilson as the last possibility for Valley City to secure a singles qualifier. Coming in as the 9th seed, Neilson notched a pair of comfortable wins to reach the quarterfinals, including a 6-1,6-1 win over 8th-seeded Maddie Nelson of Red River.

The quarterfinals would mark the first stumble for Neilson as she was matched up with top-seeded Sarea Gu of West Fargo Sheyenne, who continued her dominance by rolling a 6-2,6-2 win over Neilson. Down but not out, Neilson would need to win her next matchup against 6th-seeded Ruby Hawley of Fargo South to qualify for state.

Once again, the Hi-Liner youngster showed her mettle as she dispatched the higher-seeded Bruin in straight sets 6-1,6-3 to qualify for the state tournament in Grand Forks. Neilson would continue her march through the consolation bracket, finishing in 5th place after rolling to another straight win over 7th-seeded Sofia Summers of Davies (6-1, 6-4) to wrap up the day. This 5th place finish is the highest individual finish for a Valley City player at the EDC Championships in 20 years.

Valley City Head Coach Matt Neilson recaps what has been a banner year for the Hi-Liners: “The whole team has worked for the last several years in season and out of season to get to this point. They believe in themselves, their teammates, and their coaches. Our team is blessed to have high-quality coaches, including Coach Sara, Hannah, Erik, Susan, and Jamie, who care about kids, tennis, doing things the right way, education, and our team.”

Coach Neilson was also named EDC Coach of the Year for the 4th time.

The State Championships will start Thursday in Grand Forks, and the individual tournament will be held on Friday and Saturday.

 

Photos Provided by  Brent Thomsen