Smith wins one match in second trip to state

     For the second year in a row, Julia Smith won a singles match at the state Class A girls tennis tournament.

     The Park Rapids sophomore opened the state tournament Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Winona Cotter freshman Cindy Li, who was the No. 3 seed.

     Smith stayed alive with a 6-0, 6-0 win over St. James senior Julia Boeve in Thursday’s consolation round.

     On Friday, Smith was eliminated with a 6-3, 7-5 loss to Breck junior Anna Zumwinkle to end the season with a 23-14 record in singles.

     Smith, who won her first match before being eliminated in the quarterfinals at last year’s state tournament, advanced to state as the Section 8A runner-up this year. Smith lost to Staples-Motley’s Izabella Edin in the section title match.

     Edin, a sophomore, defeated Holy Family Catholic junior Grace Soerr 6-3, 6-3 in the third-place match in her state debut. Holy Family Catholic senior Danielle Gannon, the No. 1 seed, defeated Virginia senior Brylee Seitz 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match.

     In the Class A doubles tournament, East Grand Forks junior Chessa Jones and sophomore Emma Dietrich reached the consolation title match while Staples-Motley seniors Nikki Edin and Grace Wolhowe went 1-2.

     Staples-Motley, which defeated Park Rapids 6-1 in the Section 8A title match, lost to Holy Family Catholic 6-1 and Rochester Lourdes 5-2 in the team tournament.