ROCHESTER – The Packer girls needed some guts and fortitude to advance to the finals of the Section 1AA tennis tournament.

Wednesday, October 13, 1999

ROCHESTER – The Packer girls needed some guts and fortitude to advance to the finals of the Section 1AA tennis tournament. Once there, they had some fun, gained some experience, but came up one meet victory short of a trip to state with a 7-0 loss to Big Nine Champ , Rochester Mayo. Last year the Spartans finished third at State. This year, they go in as the fourth ranked Class AA team in Minnesota. This is the third straight year that the Spartans will compete at state.

It was an all Big Nine Conference affair at the final four. Mayo faced Winona in one semifinal, won by the Spartans, 7-0, while the Packers faced John Marshall.

"This was the first time in my four years that Austin has advanced to the final four," Austin coach Deb Hoyt said.

If things went according to form it would be the Packers facing the Spartans in the final. The Packers finished second in the Big Nine with an 8-1 record. They defeated John Marshall 5-2 in the regular season.

There were seven courts reserved at the Rochester Athletic Club for the final four. Mayo/Winona had four matches out and Austin/JM three in the first go round. Austin took a 2-1 lead in the match with straight set wins by No. 1 and 2 singles players Laurie Alonso and Amy Kelly. At No. 1 doubles Mindy Neilon and Chelsea McColley lost in straight sets to the No. 1 doubles team in the Big Nine, Lara Fisher and Molly Olson.

Austin needed two points from the four remaining matches to advance to the finals. At No. 4 singles Betsy Hingeveld fell behind early and never recovered, bowing out in straight sets, two and two.

Her loss meant Austin needed to win two of the remaining three matches on three adjoining courts. Things didn’t look good for Austin as both No. 3 singles player Emily Bue and the No. 2 doubles team of Lindy Swedberg and Tiffany Ankeny dropped their first sets. At the same time the No. 3 doubles team of Amber Dolphin and Claire Johnson let slip away a 5-2 lead in their opening set by dropping four straight games. It looked like the Rockets would pull the upset and make it an all-Rochester affair in the finals.

Then the tide turned red. Bue and Swedberg/Ankeny got on top early in their second sets while Dolphin/Johnson won the 12th game of their first set and went on to win the tie break 7-5. Bue then posted a 6-1 win to send her match into the third set, while there was an exchange of four straight breaks of serve in No. 2 doubles. At this point Ankeny stepped to the service line to try to break the string. If she did, Austin would win the second set 6-4. With some big serves and some hard hit volleys from Swedberg, Ankeny held.

Dolphin and Johnson then blitzed through their second set, 6-2, to give Austin point three.

"We became more patient and let them make the mistakes," Dolphin explained how Johnson and she turned things around in their match.

Meanwhile Bue was running everything down that was hit across the net and went up 4-1 while Swedberg and Ankeny continued their hard-hitting ways. They won numerous points with hard hit volleys that found the mark. They also went up 4-1. Swedberg and Ankeny were the first to get to six and get credit for the decisive Austin point, but Bue was not far behind, giving the Packers their second 5-2 win over the Rockets.

In the finals, Austin fell behind early in all the matches and never stemmed the Spartans’ tidal wave.

"We got a slow start on the day, not playing as well as we could against Winona," Mayo coach Dave Edwards said. "We played much better against Austin. Getting out to early leads was the key to the win. Our experience helped us"

Alonso was the only Packer to win a set against the Spartans, but almost everyone had a good time playing in the finals.

"We had a lot of fun in our match," said Dolphin, the only senior on the team (the rest of the Packers top 10 are sophomores and freshman). "I wanted to enjoy my last team match."

The Packers make another trip back to Rochester on Thursday. This time for the first round of the Section 1AA individuals competition.

Austin 5, John Marshall 2

Singles

No. 1 Laurie Alonso (A) def. Casie Enquist, 6-1, 6-1

No. 2 Amy Kelly (A) def. Becca Hoel 6-1, 6-0

No. 3 Emily Bue (A) def. Joanna Michelson 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

No. 4 Brianna Schroeder (JM) def. Betsy Hingeveld 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1 Lara Fisher/Molly Olson def. Mindy Neilon/Chelsea McColley 6-0, 6-2

No. 2 Lindy Swedberg/Tiffany Ankeny (A) def. Rachel Mock/Michelle Wilker 2-6, 6-4, 6-2

No. 3 Amber Dolphin/Claire Johnson (A) def. Anne Becker/Andrea Mock 7-6 (7-5), 6-2

Mayo 7, Austin 0

Singles

No. 1 Caitlan Loprinzi (RM) def. Laurie Alonso 6-1, 1-6, 6-3

No. 2 Jeanine Cascino (RM) def. Amy Kelly 6-3, 6-2

No. 3 Stephanie Freese (RM) def. Emily Bue 6-3, 6-2

No. 4 Hanna Swee (RM) def. Betsy Hingeveld 6-0, 6-1

Doubles

No. 1 Beth Erie/Stacia Thompson (RM) def. Mindy Neilon/Chelsea McColley 6-0, 6-4

No. 2 Margo Reeder/Nicole Hayek (RM) def. Lindy Swedberg/Tiffany Ankeny 6-2, 6-3

No. 3 Sarah Carrier/Katie Brown (RM) def. Amber Dolphin/Claire Johnson 6-1, 6-3