Oct. 23—MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly three hours into the Class A state semifinal match between the Litchfield and Crookston girls tennis teams, you could hear a pin drop during play Wednesday.
With one match left undecided, the two teams, both top squads in Class A, were tied at 3-3.
The final point determining which team would draw top-seeded Blake in the Class A state championship wound up to be the No. 2 singles match between Litchfield’s Maya Wuotila and Crookston’s Paige Abrahamson.
Wuotila, who lost the first set 3-6 and took the second set 6-4, held a 5-4 lead in the third set when the two fanbases’ crowds flooded Court 2 at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center.
At or nearby Court 2, you could hear Litchfield’s wing of Dragons roar and the gasps of the Pirates’ crowd, or vice versa.
It felt like the match would never come to an end. Yet, those emotions continued to escalate.
Abrahamson forced a 5-5 score and seemed to gather momentum in the 11th game. She had earned two add-in advantages before a tranquil Wuotila battled back to take a 6-5 lead.
Similarly to Game 11, Wuotila found a way in Game 12. She worked her way out of an add-in for Abrahamson before taking the game and set to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
The senior’s win vaulted three-seeded Litchfield to a 4-3 win against second-seeded Crookston and into the Class A state championship with Blake, which takes place at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
“It was all I could ask for,” Wuotila said. “It was an amazing match.”
Dragons’ head coach Matt Draeger had a good feeling about Wuotila’s ability to pull away with a victory for his team, which moments before, got a three-set thrilling win from its No. 1 doubles pairing in senior Emma Knudsen and sophomore Molly Patten.
“Maya was going to take care of things,” Draeger said. “This young lady won three third-set tiebreakers in one week this year. She’s been through numerous of those situations and she seems to always come through.”
Wuotila, with an add-in advantage, secured her victory with a deep, lofted shot out of Abrahamson’s reach that eventually fell in bounds.
The green-, black-and-white-clothed crowd erupted and Wuotila threw her hands up into the air before running over to her teammates.
“Hitting that last shot and knowing that (Paige) wasn’t going to go for it, what a relief it was,” Wuotila said. “I just wanted to go hug all my girls and be happy with them.”
Throughout the action in Day 1 on Tuesday, Wuotila watched a match that had the attention of all of the spectators’ eyes. She made it clear that she would not want to be in that situation.
Yet, Wuotila found herself in it, and in what was one of the biggest, if not the biggest match, of her Dragons’ career up to this point. She reminded herself to play the best she could.
“I saw everyone gather and I think that it helped me more just knowing that I had everyone to cheer for me and support me,” Wuotila said. “It was really nice, actually.”
Wuotila was one of three singles players to earn a win for Litchfield.
Isla Dille and Emma Wuotila, both sophomores, helped set the tone for the Dragons. Dille won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles against the Pirates’ Ashlyn Bailey. Emma Wuotila earned a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Crookston’s Ava Martin.
“We’re in the state championship,” Draeger said. “We’ll roll the dice and see what happens.”
Litchfield last appeared in the state championship in 2021. The Dragons lost 7-0 against Breck.
