The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Tennis team had one of their better matches of the season in a 5-2 victory over the Roseau Rams in the first round of the Section 8A Girls Tennis Tournament played at Fargo’s Courts Plus. In the semi-final match, Thief River Falls was too strong and beat the Pirates 5-2 to eliminate Crookston from the team tournament.
CROOKSTON VS ROSEAU
Crookston swept the singles by winning all four matches in straight sets. At first singles, Catherine Tiedemann hit the ball well and won 6-3, 6-2. “She is in a good groove right now,” said Pirate Coach Cody Brekken. “Catherine came out and played tough and frustrated her opponent.” Hayden Winjum took care of business in quick fashion with a 6-1, 6-0 victory. “That was a quick one,” said Coach Brekken. “She played well and played a good all-around match.” At third singles, Halle Winjum won 6-1, 6-4 and Emma Osborn completed the sweep at fourth singles with a 6-1, 6-1 victory. “Halle, as she does works every ball and frustrates her opponents and played a solid match,” said Coach Brekken. “Emma ha solidified her singles game. She hits a hard ball and is consistent and she had a great match.”
The doubles matches were more competitive and Roseau won first doubles in three sets. The Crookston second doubles team of Eden Haller and Emma Gunderson played well and won 6-2, 6-2. “Eden played phenomenal in the match and hit the ball hard and barely made any mistakes,” said Coach Brekken. “Emma complimented her well and was steady and played well.” Roseau won the third doubles match in three sets and Crookston won the match 5-2. “Both doubles losses were hard-fought,” said Coach Brekken. “They played well, but Roseau had some strong doubles teams and you have to give Roseau credit for playing well.
Crookston improves to 10-11 on the season. Scroll down further to see the semi-final match story.
| CROOKSTON-5 | Roseau-2 | Win | Score | |
| 1st Sin | Catherine Tiedemann | Charlene Grahn | Crox | 6-3, 6-2 |
| 2nd | Hayden Winjum | Olivia Urness | Crox | 6-1, 6-0 |
| 3rd | Halle Winjum | Julia Braaten | Crox | 6-1, 6-4 |
| 4th | Emma Osborn | Masynn Janicke | Crox | 6-1, 6-1 |
| 1st Dubs | Emma Borowicz Hannah Lindemoen |
Kiersten Flaig Lindsay Mcfarlane |
Ros | 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (9-7) |
| 2nd | Eden Haller Emma Gunderson |
Haylee Bennett Madison Verbout |
Crox | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3rd | Halle Bruggeman Audrey Harbott |
Ella Trangsrud Emma Zimmerman |
Ros | 6-3, 5-7, 10-2 |
CROOKSTON VS THIEF RIVER FALLS
The teams split the first two matches with the Prowlers third doubles team picking up a win, but Crookston’s Emma Osborn won her fourth singles match 6-1, 6-0 to tie the match at 1-1. “Emma showed up and really dominated and was playing great singles at the end of the year,” said Coach Brekken.
Thief River Falls regained the lead by pitching a shutout (6-0, 6-0) in the second doubles match to take a 2-1 lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Prowlers won the second singles match 6-2, 6-2 and they won the fourth match to solidify a trip to the Section Championship with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at third singles to take a 4-1 lead. Thief River Falls won the first doubles match 6-1, 6-3 to take a 5-1 lead with the first singles match left. Crookston’s Catherine Tiedemann played a great match and won a hard-fought first set 7-5 and won the second set in a 6-4 and Crookston lost the match 5-2. “She really picked up her game in the second half of the season and was hitting the ball hard,” said Coach Brekken. “She beat the #1 seed for the singles tournament next week so she played well.”
Crookston ends the team season with a record of 10-12 on the year and will say goodbye to seniors Eden Haller and Audrey Harbott. “We played our best tennis at the end of the year and that is all you can ask for,” said Coach Brekken. “We had a great season and lost to a very good team in Thief River Falls. Now we look forward to the individual rounds next week.”
| CROOKSTON-2 | Thief River Falls-5 | Win | Score | |
| 1st Sin | Catherine Tiedemann | Emma Fagerstrom | Crox | 7-5, 6-4 |
| 2nd | Hayden Winjum | Brooklyn Broadwell | TRF | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3rd | Halle Winjum | Ava Yuska | TRF | 6-1, 1-6, 1-6 |
| 4th | Emma Osborn | Bell Hamre | Crox | 6-1, 6-0 |
| 1st Dubs | Emma Borowicz Hannah Lindemoen |
Khloe Lund Isabela Nelson |
TRF | 6-1, 6-3 |
| 2nd | Eden Haller Emma Gunderson |
Abby Flaagen Brooklyn Brouse |
TRF | 6-0, 6-0 |
| 3rd | Audrey Harbott Halle Bruggeman |
Trista Spears Gabriella Steele |
TRF | 6-0, 6-3 |
