Blake girls tennis goes back to back in Class 1A state tournament

Blake girls tennis coach Mike Ach asked senior Regan Brass if she wanted to read the starting lineup for the team’s Class 1A championship match Wednesday. She asked if she’d get a microphone, then realized she didn’t need one.

“Can I yell it?” she asked

Sure.

“That definitely set the tone,” Brass said. “We’ve never done that before, and I think it caught the whole team off guard, and it really set the tone for the energy for the rest of the match.”

Blake used that energy to cruise to a 6-1 victory over No. 3-seeded Litchfield at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis to capture back-to-back Class 1A girls tennis team championships. It marked Blake’s 15th girls tennis team championship.

Brass followed up her lineup-reading debut with a winning performance on the court at No. 2 doubles with sophomore partner Louisa Cohen. They dispatched Litchfield sophomores Brynn Nagel and Tayah Damerow, 6-2, 6-0, and were the first match off the courts.

“They played so clean,” Ach said. “Everything they did was awesome. It wasn’t anything in particular. Their whole game was just super-solid.”

Brass and Cohen, who is in her first year on the team, were a doubles team throughout this season.

“I just tried to give it my all,” Cohen said. “Especially for her [Brass], she’s just been a great role model to look up to.”

Though this year’s team is young, Ach said he was happy with how they handled the pressure Wednesday. He was also impressed with his team’s sweep of the three doubles matches, one of which came from a set down to win in three sets. Blake’s doubles, though solid this season, had dropped some points along the way, Ach said.

“But coming into this tournament, they kept raising their level,” he said.

Litchfield made the final after a 4-3 semifinal upset of No. 2 seed Crookston. The Dragons’ lone match victory in the final came at No. 1 singles as sophomore Isla Dille defeated Blake sophomore Fatemeh Vang 6-2, 6-2.

“[Dille] was very intelligent with her shots,” Litchfield coach Matt Draeger said. “I thought she hustled after balls and made [Vang] hit extra shots.”

When the medals and trophy were presented, Ach called on Brass again to read player names as medals were placed around their necks.

“It’s my last year as a senior, so I really wanted to go out with a bang,” Brass said. “I know this team’s going to be back next year.”