Sep. 26—BEMIDJI — Kyle Fodness has spent the 23-match Bemidji High School girls tennis season focused almost exclusively on the self-improvement of his players, getting better set-by-set and match-by-match.
But after an undefeated 23-0 regular season and a short break before the Section 8 AA Tournament kicks off, the girls have an opportunity to reflect on what has been a historic year.
“We’ve said every time whether we’re winning or losing as a program through the years, we’re not a results-based program, (we’re) process-based, get better, grow, be better in all those aspects as you play,” Fodness said. “You can also appreciate the fact that you celebrate your accomplishments, celebrate the accomplishments of your team — and (this is) really cool accomplishment.”
The program’s last undefeated regular season came back in 2012.
That group of Lumberjacks finished the season 14-1, ending the season with a loss to St. Cloud Tech in the section final.
“It’s definitely not an accomplishment of just this year’s team,” Fodness said. “It’s a program victory not specific to one year, and I think the girls would say that too. They’re very thankful for the girls who came before and established good tradition, good culture. We want to carry that on.”
Thursday’s evening’s regular season finale provided quite the test for the Lumberjacks, who had to battle a stout group to earn their unblemished record.
Their opponent, Brainerd, entered the Thursday evening matchup with a 15-1 record as one of the best teams in Section 8AA
“Whatever team Garrett Goeden coaches is going to be well coached,” Fodness said. “They’re a well-coached group, they’ve been improving throughout the season. You always want to play teams that bring out your best.”
In a closely contested match, Bemidji swept all four singles matches to earn a 4-3 victory over the Warriors and wrap up one of the best seasons in program history.
“I (don’t) think that we thought it was going to go this well,” senior captain Elena Peterson said. “We were pretty confident we had a strong lineup of girls and we have so many returning girls from last season, we only graduated two seniors from our varsity lineup last year. … But I don’t think we expected things to roll this well.”
Peterson led the way in singles, earning a two-set win at No.1 against Brooke Malholland. Her sister, Liz, bested Jessica Cole in No. 2 singles in two sets.
Lilly Caron and Bailey Rupp rounded out singles with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
“It’s definitely boosted some confidence for some girls who were kind of shaky about the spots they were going into,” Peterson said. “Everybody’s been kind of on an upward momentum, so that’s been super fun throughout the season.”
Though Bemidij didn’t nab a win in doubles, two of the three doubles matches were three-set barnburners.
A hard-fought win against such a talented opponent was a fitting way to cap off the regular season, providing one last in-game opportunity for the Jacks to improve before the postseason arrives.
“Everyone has that record in the back of their mind, because how do you not?” said junior Megan Berg, who competed in No. 1 doubles alongside Sam Wood against Brainerd. “Everyone’s going out there to improve and to play their best match. At the end of the day, (if) we win, we win. (If) we lose, we lose. But it’s really about self improvement more than keeping that whatever-and-0 record.”
After a brief weekend reprieve, the Lumberjacks will hop right back onto the court next week for tournament play. The Section 8AA bracket has not been unveiled.
Thursday’s win over Brainerd all but ensures a No.1 seed for Bemidji in the 8AA North sub-section, a fitting reward for the lack of tallies in the loss column.
But from here on out, it’s win or go home.
“They’re a hungry group because there’s another opportunity in front of them,” Fodness said. “As long as you give them another match, they’re going to work really hard for it, whether it’s a section match or state match or regular season match — if they have another match to play, they’re going to be hungry for it and want to play their best in it.”
Bemidji 4, Brainerd 3
Singles
No. 1: Elena Peterson (BHS) def. Brooke Malholland 7-6, 6-1
No. 2: Liz Peterson (BHS) def. Jessica Cole 7-5, 6-4
No. 3: Lilly Caron (BHS) def. Taryn Mithun 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4: Bailey Rupp (BHS) def. Lily Knoepke 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1: Folden/Kramer (BRD) def. Wood/Berg 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
No. 2: R. Soukup/L. Soukup (BRD) def. Myhre/McKeon 6-1, 6-2
No. 3: Grillo/Glynn (BRD) def. Knott/McNallan 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
