Oct. 22—MINNEAPOLIS — An incredible comeback effort fell short in a heartbreaking way for the Litchfield girls tennis in the Class A state championship on Wednesday evening.
Elly Woelfel and Marcella Bruning, the Dragons' No. 1 doubles team, were on the cusp of clinching the first state title in program history inside a raucous and anxiety-inducing InnerCity Tennis. The duo had St. James seniors Ellie Anderson and Alivia Romsdahl on the ropes with a 5-4 lead and a 40-love match point.
Yet, Anderson and Romsdahl flipped the script, storming back to, not only win the game, but take the next two to earn a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory. The win secured second-seeded St. James a 4-3 victory over fourth-seeded Litchfield and its first Class A state title.
"I wish it turned out the other way, but we did so good," said Bruning, who has been a part of back-to-back Class A state runner-up finishes. "I'm really proud of the way that we played."
Litchfield advanced to the final by
in the semifinals earlier Wednesday.
Woelfel and Bruning were oh-so-close to capping off Litchfield's second doubles match sweep of the day that would have solidified a sizable comeback. The Dragons trailed 3-1 early.
St. James (24-0) kicked off the title bout by taking three of the four singles matches.
Isla Dille put Litchfield on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Keyana Haler at No. 1 singles. The junior, ranked fourth in Class A, beat Haler, who was ranked No. 9 in Class A.
"We had to battle back from behind and everything had to go perfect for us," Dragons head coach Matt Draeger said. "(Elly and Marcella were) down 4-1 and got to match point. That's an incredible effort to do that in this situation with all the emotions that go into it. Sometimes it's just hard to finish that last point and St. James just didn't allow us to do that."
The Dragons were one volley away from the state title.
No. 3 doubles players Kalie Ball and Mya Iverson got Litchfield's second point with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win against Ruby Ciske and Julia Westman.
But, even as the Dragons faced a 3-2 deficit, Woelfel and Bruning trailed 4-1 in set three. And at No. 2 doubles, junior Brynn Nagel and sophomore Elise Carlson were down 3-0 in set three.
Carlson and Nagel clawed their way back in a dogfight against Valeria Aguilar and Maren Bluedorn to win 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 as all eyes moved to the No. 1 doubles match.
That was where Bruning and Woelfel's momentum soared. The duo had rattled off four straight points and put Litchfield in the driver's seat.
"That's how we play," Woelfel said. "We never give up."
After the duo was unable to secure the match point in the 10th game, they held a 40-30 lead in the 11th game before Anderson and Romsdahl won three consecutive volleys to go up 6-5.
Anderson and Romsdahl then finished off the nearly three-hour match in the 12th game. It encapsulated an emotional rollercoaster for all parties involved.
"I'm happy we're here," a choked-up Woelfel said. "Breck was a shocker. I think we battled in that. As the fourth seed, to come that close, a state championship (appearance) is really good.
"Besides winning, I don't think I would have had it any other way."
Bruning was quick to agree with her season-long doubles partner.
"I'm really happy that I got to experience this with Elly," Bruning said. "The crowd made it that much more exciting. It was so hype. I loved it. I really did."
Draeger has been around the scene for a long time. He thought the environment was top tier.
"I'm just grateful for this opportunity and it was one of the best tennis environments I've ever been a part of," Draeger said. "I hope everyone here enjoyed it. I really do."
Woelfel, the lone senior for Litchfield, hopes to attend the University of South Carolina and study engineering. A math or science related field is primarily where she hopes to land.
As for the Bruning and the Dragons, they have the pieces to make another run next fall.
"I'm excited for next year, too, because I know all of us are going to work hard over the summer and work our butts off to get back here," Bruning said. "We're going to want this because we had a taste of it. We were so close."
