The Minnewaska Area girls tennis team had another great season in 2024.  The team won another WCC title (its 10th-straight) with a perfect 8-0 mark and also went 19-4 overall.  In addition, the Lakers advanced a doubles’ team to the state tourney where senior Megan Thorfinnson and junior Alia Randt went 2-2 to place fourth overall.

Yes, that’s a lot of success for one season!

Montevideo was second in the conference with a 7-1 record, followed by LQP-DB (6-2), Benson-KMS (5-3), Morris Area-WCA (4-4), YME (3-5), Melrose Area and Sauk Centre (both 2-6) and MACCRAY (0-8).

Litchfield edged the Lakers in the Section 6A title match, 5-2, after beating Minnewaska Area earlier in the season, 4-3.   Montevideo, whom the Lakers beat midway through the season, 4-3, also advanced to state.  

Litchfield went 2-1 to place second overall in Class A, while the Thunderhawks fell to St. James in the consolation final. 

The only losses for the Lakers this season were to Rock Ridge (4-3), Minneapolis Washburn (5-2) and to Litchfield twice (4-3 and 5-2).

The Minnewaska Area girls tennis team, coached by Tara Reichmann, will lose five players to graduation from this year’s team, Megan Thorfinnson, Avarie Uhde, Katy Vold, McKenna Uhde and Katie Sorenson.

This was Reichmann’s 25th season as head coach of the girls team.  Reichmann has an unofficial 546 career wins in boys and girls tennis, including a 384-159 record in girls tennis alone (71 percent winning percentage).

Other highlights-history

Thorfinnson and Randt placed fourth in section doubles in 2022 and third last season before finally making it to state this season as Section 6A champions.

Thorfinnson and Randt earned the third seed in the Class A Tourney and won their first two matches before losing their last two, including a 6-4, 7-6 loss in the third-place match.

It was the fourth time in Waska girls’ tennis history where a doubles’ team has made it as far as the state semifinals.

Junior Olivia Danielson, who played mostly third singles for the Lakers this year, had the most wins for the Lakers this season with a 31-3 record, while sophomore Rachel Rankin was 30-5 playing mostly at first and second doubles and Thorfinnson also had 30 victories, going 30-8 at mostly second singles.

Overall, the Lakers had nine players with at least 20 wins this fall and all 10 regulars finished the season with a .500 record or better.

The Lakers will lose their second singles player (Thorfinnson), one player at first doubles (Avarie Uhde), one player at second doubles (Katy Vold) and their third doubles team (Katie Sorenson and McKenna Uhde) next year due to graduation.

That should give other talented players a chance to step up, including sophomores Norah VanZee (1-0 this season), Kennedy Blair, Adysen Hess and Maggie Hjelm, who all played exhibition matches for the varsity team all season.

•  Thorfinnson ended her career with an unofficial 92 victories, while Randt will go into her final season of tennis with an unofficial 85 career victories. 

•  The Minnewaska Area girls tennis team has had seven state team appearances, including 2001, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019.  The boys tennis program meanwhile, has qualified to state twice in 2022 and 2024.