October 18 —- Where there is a will, there is a way.
And, for the
this catapulted him into the Class A state tournament.
The Dragons, ranked sixth in Class A, earned the third seed and will face unseeded Montevideo in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
This is Litchfield’s first state appearance since the 2022 season. It finished third two years ago.
“Everyone is very excited,” Dragons head coach Matt Draeger said. “They are ready for the next step.”
Draeger praised his team’s ability to fight and compete for each other despite a perilous regular season schedule.
Litchfield is 18-9 overall through sectional play, according to TennisReporting.com. The Dragons’ nine losses came at the hands of either a Class AA team, a ranked Class A team or a Class A team receiving votes in the Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association poll.
The Dragons posted wins against Alexandria, Annandale, Delano, Hutchinson, Mound-Westonka and Willmar, all Class AA programs.
Litchfield has also beaten a handful of top Class A schools: No. 3 Minnewaska, which the Dragons beat in the Section 6A championship, and once in the regular season, No. 7 Pine City, No. 10 Osakis and Staples-Motley, who received votes. .
“With how many good teams we played, we just had to find ways to win,” Draeger said. “This is what we are prepared for at the state tournament.”
Each individual exceeded Draeger’s expectations for this season. Eight of its 10 regular players have more than 20 wins.
These totals come after a 2023 season where Litchfield was 9-13.
“They’re a tight-knit group and when they play, they play for their teammates,” Draeger said. “It’s a lot easier to play in pressure situations when you’re playing for someone else.
“They have each other’s backs and support each other.”
Isla Dille, who plays No. 1 singles for the Dragons, was dominant in her sophomore season and fourth overall in college.
She is making her second appearance in the Class A individual tournament and third straight appearance in the Class A individual tournament, which begins at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center, after winning the Section 6A singles event.
Dille, one of six sophomores on Litchfield’s roster, is the fourth seed in the Class A singles bracket and faces unseeded Vivian Mader of Waseca to open play in the individual portion of the state meet Thursday.
Also making strong contributions as students of second year for the Dragons.
The only juniors and freshmen are Elly Woelfel at No. 3 in doubles and Marcella Bruning at No. 4 in singles.
There are two seniors, Emma Knudsen at No. 1 doubles and Maya Wuotila at No. 2 singles, and Draeger credited their senior leadership.
“They all played their part and that’s what makes this group special,” Draeger said. “I don’t think we were more talented than the teams we were playing, I thought we outplayed them.
“We stayed the course and kept our heads together despite adversity. That’s what we will remember this group for.”
Knudsen and Patten compete in the Class A doubles tournament, which also begins at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center. They are the fifth seed and will face unseeded Tali Bellefy and Meg Santini of Holy Family in the first round.
The duo lost to Minnewaska’s Megan Thorfinnson and Alia Randt in the Section 6A doubles final. With another chance to earn a spot at state, the doubles duo bounced back in the true second-place match against Rachel Rankin and Avarie Uhde of the Lakers to advance to the state meet.
“Emma (Knudsen) fights and fights and competes,” Draeger said of her wily older sibling. “She’s been really good to Molly in the sense that she keeps her focused on the task at hand.
“I’m really proud of Emma (Knudsen). She works. She outworks everyone all the time, whether it’s school, work or tennis. … This world needs a lot of people like here. “
The confidence within the group is evident and its national leadership begins with the Thunder Hawks. If the Dragons and second-seeded Crookston advance to the state semifinals, it will be a rematch of Sept. 21 when the Pirates won 4-3 against Litchfield. Crookston is ranked fourth in Class A.
“We feel really good,” Draeger said. “We are so prepared for pressure situations.”
(1) Isla Dille, second year student
(2) Maya Wuotila, senior
(3) Emma Wuotila, second year student
(4) Marcella Bruning, freshman
(1) Molly Patten, sophomore; Emma Knudsen, senior
(2) Brynn Nagel, sophomore; Tayah Damerow, sophomore
(3) Elly Woelfel, junior; Emily Michels, sophomore
Tuesday
Q1: (1) Blake vs. Waseca, 8 a.m.
Q2: (4) Pine City vs. (5) Saint James, 10 a.m.
Q3: (2) Crookston vs. Providence Academy, noon
Q4: (3) Litchfield vs. Montevideo, 2:00 p.m.
CS1: Losers of Q1 and Q2, 4 p.m.
CSS2: Losers of T3 and T4, 6 p.m.
Wednesday
WS1: Winners of Q1 and Q2, 8 a.m.
WS2: Winners of Q3 and Q4, 10 a.m.
5th: Winners of CS1 and CS2, noon
3rd: Losers of WS1 and WS2, 2 p.m.
Championship: Winners of WS1 and WS2, 4 p.m.
