BEMIDJI 鈥� Elena Peterson has been there and done that for the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 girls tennis team. Zoe McNallan, however, has not.
Peterson, a senior, is one of the Lumberjacks鈥� top players. She鈥檚 an individual section champion, but the fate of her final team season was, to some extent, put on McNallan鈥檚 shoulders鈥� twice.
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The sophomore was slotted in at No. 4 singles in the Section 8AA semifinal match against St. Cloud Tech. She dispatched her first opponent in straight sets to clinch Bemidji鈥檚 fourth point and a spot in the 8AA title.
With only Brainerd left to beat, McNallan moved to No. 3 doubles with Millie Knott. All Peterson could do was watch as McNallan was in another spot to clinch a team victory.
鈥淚 was one of the last matches to go out,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淔or me, I wasn鈥檛 super stressed when it was time for me to play. I was pretty relaxed.鈥�
鈥淚 definitely wasn鈥檛 relaxed,鈥� McNallan quipped in response to Peterson.
McNallan has been one of the rotating depth figures for the Jacks this fall. Some days she鈥檇 play a varsity match, while other days were filled with exhibitions. But a late-season injury made her lineup presence more permanent.
鈥淲e knew that we had more than 10 good varsity players this year,鈥� head coach Kyle Fodness said. 鈥淲e told them that they always have to be ready. Morgan Nyhusmoen goes down with an injury against Pequot Lakes, and Zoe steps in there. She had been ready all year for that opportunity. 鈥� There wasn鈥檛 really an acclimatization period, she was just ready to play.鈥�
McNallan and Knott trailed in the opening set. Then they put their foot on the gas.
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鈥淚 started down in both (matches),鈥� McNallan said. 鈥淲ith Millie, we started bad. We were down 5-2 and came back to win 7-6. I didn鈥檛 know the other scores, I didn鈥檛 see everybody winning. We just thought we had to get this win to keep going.鈥�
鈥淚 kept watching her court,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淎gainst Brainerd the first time, we had a singles sweep. I thought it would be amazing if we could get a doubles win this time. I knew that her and Millie could pull it out.鈥�
Peterson got what she wanted. McNallan and Knott pulled out a 7-6, 6-2 win to claim the first BHS team section championship since 2021.
鈥淭hat was a team they lost to earlier in the year,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淏oth Millie and Zoe are dedicated athletes, competitive athletes. They thought they missed an opportunity in our home match (against Brainerd). They said, 鈥楲et's go play how we can play and see what happens.鈥� That took some pressure off of them, and they did a great job in that match.鈥�
Then, the celebration commenced.
鈥淚t鈥檚 super exciting, we have such a fun team,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥�(Going to state) is going to be a really cool thing we can all do together. 鈥� I feel like everyone is just so close on this team. We鈥檙e all friends outside of tennis. The most exciting part is just playing with each other, it鈥檚 not even winning.鈥�
BHS is one of the three unseeded teams at the Class AA State Tournament. The Lumberjacks will take on No. 3 Mounds View at 2 p.m. at the Baseline Tennis Center on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
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鈥淭his is my first time going to state,鈥� McNallan said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to get another bus trip together because the bus trips are fun. 鈥� Everybody on this team is so welcoming. They鈥檙e all super good friends to have, and I鈥檓 happy I鈥檓 part of it.鈥�
Bemidji players and coaches weren鈥檛 surprised to be unseeded on Thursday, despite having a perfect 26-0 record. That鈥檚 because the idea of being undefeated has taken a back seat.
But the idea of preserving it still lingers.
鈥淓verybody has it in the back of their mind,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淗ow do you not? But we just go out there taking it in as a new day with a new match. There鈥檚 so much positive energy the girls bring. You鈥檙e just going out there and playing with your best friends, and I feel like that鈥檚 what we focus on more than the wins.鈥�
Peterson added that when a team becomes record-focused, it adds stress to the development throughout the season.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to go into a match thinking about upholding an undefeated record,鈥� she continued. 鈥淲hen we go in relaxed, like we鈥檙e playing another game, it benefits us. 鈥� No one expected our season to go the way that it did. We鈥檙e just going to go in, play our best like we have all season. There鈥檚 a little bit of an underdog mentality, and we鈥檙e going to have fun with it.鈥�
Fodness has witnessed two of his teams win section titles before last Friday. The BHS boys climbed atop 8AA in the spring of 2021. His girls team did it later that fall 鈥� the last Bemidji team to win a section championship before this season.
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鈥淓very group is different,鈥� Fodness said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e different groups of kids with different smiles and celebrations. As a coaching staff, we were happy the team won, but our happiest moment was seeing them celebrate and all of their smiles. Any time somebody鈥檚 asked us about our team this year, we say the same thing: this is a fantastic group of student-athletes and we鈥檙e happy to be along for the ride.鈥�
Fodness wants to see his team go down to the University of Minnesota and 鈥渓et it rip鈥� against the best teams in the state. Peterson and Megan Berg will also take on Eden Prairie鈥檚 Zadie Walvante and Sravika Vadrevu in the opening round of the individual doubles state tournament at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24.
鈥淪tate is the cherry on top of our season,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be so fun playing against that really good competition, hard competition. It鈥檚 just one last hoorah with this amazing team.鈥�
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