MINNEAPOLIS — Lauren Rutten and Ronnie Noska were singles players posing as a doubles team.

They were so good at it that they garnered the No. 4 seed for the Class 1A State Individual Tournament, which started Thursday, Oct. 26 and concluded Friday, Oct. 27, at the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center.

The seeding was accurate because that’s where the Staples-Motley team placed after falling in the championship semifinals to the No. 1 seed from Blake and then to the No. 3 seeded team from Rochester Lourdes in the third-place match.

“It was great competition and it was fun to watch,” S-M head coach Justin Edin said.

Rutten-Noska ran into a buzzsaw known as Fetemeh Vang and Nana Vang from Blake. The duo topped Rutten-Noska 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals. The Blake team then went on to win the state title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over the No. 2 seeded team from Minnehaha Academy.

“The Blake team was really great,” Edin said. “They communicate well and they were constantly moving and attacking. They were just a really great doubles team.

“Our girls bounced back pretty well. They just kind of reset and had the same plan of just going to play their best tennis and see what happens.”

The semifinal loss dropped the S-M pair into the third-place match where they faced Rochester Lourdes’ Caroline Daly-Elyse Palen. It was the second Rochester Lourdes team Noska-Rutten faced in the tournament.

After opening state with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over a team from Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson Boyd, Rutten-Noska faced Erin Witter-Taylor Elliott of Rochester Lourdes in the championship quarterfinals. The S-M team won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals.

In the third-place match against Daly-Palen, Rutten-Noska came out firing with a 6-4 first-set victory. Rochester Lourdes regrouped to win the second set 6-0 and the third set 10-5 to land the Cardinals in fourth place.

“Getting that first set they were feeling pretty good,” Edin said. “Lourdes just took it up another gear and got it in the end.

“It was fun to watch. We wished we could have gotten them a couple more matches for them during the season, but I think given the time that they had and the adjustments they made they did a really nice job.”

The two losses Friday were the first two losses for the Rutten-Noska pairing. Noska, a freshman finished the season 27-2. She will enter her sophomore year with a 77-16 career record. Rutten, a senior, concluded her final year with a 26-3 season record and a 134-44 career record.

“We’re going to miss Lauren a lot,” Edin said. “I’ve been pretty blessed to have her as a coach and for the rest of the girls as a teammate. There will be some shoes to fill. I’m excited for her future and for our team’s future, too.”

Covering the Brainerd lakes area sports scene for the past 23 years.