Oct. 21—CROOKSTON, Minn. — Six days before the start of girls tennis practice two years ago, the Crookston girls tennis program needed a head coach after the previous coach took a job elsewhere.
The school turned to seek coaching help from parents, landing on Gina Gunderson — a mother of three who played high school tennis growing up in Mahnomen but had no prior coaching experience other than being the daughter of a football coach.
All Gunderson has done in two years leading the Pirates is advance to two-straight Minnesota state Class A tournaments. Her No. 2-seed Pirates face Providence Academy at noon in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
“I just think Crookston has a rich history in the tennis program,” Gunderson said. “When you have that, you know that and you work hard. They put in work in the summer on their own. They’re really good athletes and great, smart tennis players.”
This year’s team wasn’t just an easy reload from 2023, either, for Gunderson. The Pirates had seven seniors in 2023 and entered 2024 with five players who had yet to play for the varsity squad.
“My favorite part of coaching is watching these girls overcoming adversity and figuring things out,” Gunderson said. “We’ve seen a lot of this during the year: The mental toughness coming out on the court and realizing ‘I can do this.’
“These girls are just really great, well-rounded tennis players. What they need from the coaches is someone to support them, encourage them and help them be their best on and off the court.”
Crookston tennis has a strong tradition, which was aided by former Minnesota Tennis Hall of Fame coach Mike Geffre, who left Crookston after 30-plus years to take a job in Michigan in 2019.
Geffre’s impact is seen on Gunderson’s staff, which includes assistant Katie Fee, a former state doubles champion for the Pirates. Another assistant Sarah Weiland is a former Crookston tennis athlete, as well.
Crookston will have one doubles team in the individual portion of the state tournament. Seniors Addie Fee and Kaylie Clauson are the No. 4 seed. They’ll face Macy Sohre and Kelsey Jaeger of Maple River in the first round at 10 a.m. Thursday.
“They both have made a huge impact on the tennis program the last few years,” Gunderson said.
The Pirates have a mix of experience and newcomers. Senior Georgia Sanders has a 28-4 record this season.
In the section championship win over Staples-Motley, the 4-3 win came down to a doubles match by Crookston’s Chloe Boll and Emma LaPlante, neither of which played tennis last season.
Boll was a standout swimmer until Crookston cut the sport due to low participation in the offseason, while LaPlante elected to play both volleyball and tennis this year.
Boll and LaPlante won at No. 3 doubles 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to send the Pirates back to the state tournament.
“These girls are fun to watch, and they’re great off and on the court,” Gunderson said. “As a coach, you just want to create life-long lessons and help them be great humans as they move on.”
