Zoey Elwood (right) returns a shot at second doubles as Grace Jensen looks on.

The Minnewaska Area girls tennis team had a good season this fall, finishing 9-10 overall and 8-0 in the WCC to win an 8th-straight conference title.

The Lakers had one 5-2 score over Montevideo, while the rest were decided by 6-1 or 7-0 scores during the conference schedule.  In non-conference action, the Lakers fell to Becker, Mound-Westonka, Moorhead,  Brainerd, Virginia, Litchfield, Osakis, NLS, Staples-Motley and Litchfield again in the Section 6A semifinals.

Minnewaska had its chances in those non-conference matches, losing to Becker and S-M by 4-3 scores and to Moorhead and NLS by 5-2 decisions.

The Lakers had a young starting lineup this year with a top-14 that included three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and five ninth-graders.  Seniors lost to graduation from this year’s team were Olivia Bleick, who played first doubles, and Grace Jensen and Zoey Elwood, who teamed up at second doubles.

Minnewaska Area earned the fourth seed in Section 6A and beat Melrose (6-1) in the section opener before losing to Litchfield, which went on to earn a berth at state with a 6-1 decision over Osakis in the section finals.

During the Section 6A Individual Tourney, Megan Thorfinnson and Alia Randt both won their round-of-16 matches before losing in the quarterfinals, and the doubles’ teams of Olivia Bleick-Sydney Dahl and Grace Jensen and Zoey Elwood also won their first match and lost their second.

Section 6A is possibly the toughest Class A section in the state with Litchfield (ranked fourth), NLS (fifth) and Osakis (seventh) among the eight schools.

Jensen, playing at second doubles, had the top record this year for the Lakers at 18-5, but all 10 regulars finished with at least 10 wins, including Elwood (17-8), Avarie Uhde (15-8), Katy Vold (14-9), Jayda Kolstoe (13-9), Dahl (13-12), Bleick (12-12), Thorfinnson (11-14), Liva Danielson (10-13) and Alia Randt (10-15).

The final starting lineup for the Lakers this season had Thorfinnson, Randt, Danielson and Kolstoe playing first through fourth singles, respectively, and Bleick-Dahl, Elwood-Jensen and Uhde-Vold playing first through third doubles.