With the return of East Grand Forks, Perham/New York Mills and Thief River Falls, head coach Brianne Morris knew the Park Rapids girls tennis team would face a tough challenge to advance past the opening round in this year’s Section 8A tournament.

With all the talent and experience on those three teams along with the other section opponents, Morris put the emphasis for this season on improving and preparing for postseason success next fall.

The Panthers, who didn’t have a senior on the roster and had to replace their No. 1 singles player and No. 1 doubles team, developed into a competitive team by going 9-13 in dual meets this season. Park Rapids had a chance to post a winning record, but lost two matches by 4-3 scores and were defeated 5-2 in four other matches.

“We had a tough section already. Adding three more teams made it even tougher,” said Morris. “It was definitely a learning season. The girls went out each meet ready to compete and they did well. We put girls in positions they have never played before and they did it without complaining and with a smile on their face.”

Opening the season at home, the Panthers defeated Aitkin (5-2) and lost to Becker (5-2) and Mound Westonka (6-1) in dual meets while placing sixth out of six teams at the Park Rapids Invitational as Minnewaska Area and PNYM tied for first place.

Over the next four duals, the Panthers split with a 6-1 loss to Fergus Falls, a 7-0 win over Yellow Medicine East, a 6-1 victory over Sauk Centre and a 7-0 loss to Pequot Lakes. Park Rapids followed with wins over Detroit Lakes (6-1), Crosby-Ironton (4-3), and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (7-0) and suffered losses to Moorhead (4-3) and Bemidji (5-2).

Park Rapids went 3-6 against section opponents during the regular season, defeating Roseau twice by 4-3 scores and Parkers Prairie 4-3 while dropping duals to Crookston (6-1 and 7-0), Wadena-Deer Creek (5-2), PNYM (5-2), East Grand Forks (4-3) and Staples-Motley (6-1). That gave the Panthers the No. 7 seed for the section tournament. No. 2 Thief River Falls ended Park Rapids’ season with a 6-1 victory in the quarterfinals. No. 3 Crookston defeated No. 1 Staples-Motley 5-2 in the section title match.

“The team came out playing well against a good TRF team,” said Morris. “We were in most matches, but couldn’t win the big points.”

Leading the Panthers this season were juniors Ella Ehler, Shailyn Hayes, Nora Bolton, Emmy Goochey, Abby Runyan, Kate Dravis, Rachel Ulvin, Emma Berghuis and Natalie Berghuis; sophomore Sophia Gauthier; freshmen Addy Frieden, Madeline Brandt and Emma Morris; and eighth grader Makenna Maanum.

Ehler, Hayes and Bolton played the top singles spots most of the season with Ehler going 3-7 at No. 1 singles and 4-6 at No. 2 singles, Hayes posting a 2-8 record at No. 1 singles, and Bolton going 0-3 at No. 1 singles, 4-5 at No. 2 singles and 6-4 at No. 3 singles.

Goochey was 1-1 at No. 1 singles and 1-1 at No. 2 singles, Dravis went 1-2 at No. 2 singles, Runyan had a 1-0 mark at No. 2 singles and an 0-2 record at No. 3 singles, Ulvin went 1-2 at No. 3 singles, and Frieden posted a 6-4 record at No. 3 singles and a 4-10 mark at No. 4 singles.

Also playing No. 4 singles were Maanum (1-5), Gauthier (0-2), Morris (1-1) and Brandt (0-1).

Goochey and Runyan played No. 1 doubles most of the season, going 9-12 with Runyan posting a 1-0 record at No. 2 doubles. Ehler went 3-2, Dravis went 1-0 and Hayes went 0-2 at No. 1 doubles. Dravis and Ulvin teamed up for an 11-10 record at No. 2 doubles with Ulvin adding another win at that position. Morris and Brandt went 0-3 at No. 2 doubles while going 9-9 as No. 3 doubles partners. Brandt and Frieden teamed up for a win at No. 3 doubles while the Berghuis sisters had a 3-3 record at No. 3 doubles.

Overall records had Dravis and Ulvin at 13-13, Frieden at 11-14, Goochey and Runyan at 11-15, Bolton at 10-12, Morris and Brandt at 10-13, Ehler at 10-16, Emma Berghuis and Natalie Berghuis at 3-3, Hayes at 2-11, Maanum at 1-5 and Gauthier at 0-2.

During the season, the Panthers posted records of 6-19 at No. 1 singles, 11-14 at No. 2 singles, 13-12 at No. 3 singles, 6-19 at No. 4 singles, 11-14 at No. 1 doubles, 12-13 at No. 2 doubles and 13-12 at No. 3 doubles.

For the section tournament, Hayes was the No. 5 seed and Ehler was the No. 9 seed in singles while the Goochey-Runyan duo was seeded No. 11 and the Dravis-Ulvin pair was seeded No. 17 in doubles. All four of those seeds lost their opening matches.

“For both individual and team, the girls went into their matches knowing they had nothing to lose, and that this entire experience would help them grow on the court,” said Morris. “We are proud of how they went out and fought in each match played.”

Receiving team awards were Ehler (MVP and Most Dedicated), Ehler and Emma Berghuis (Team Spirit), Frieden (Rookie of the Year), and Frieden and junior Bella Vinge (Most Improved).

“Every single player improved this year. It was fun to see the growth on the court each meet. Not only did they grow in their tennis skills, they grew in the mental part of the game,” said Morris. “While our record doesn’t show it, they were competitive with most teams we played.”

The positive news for the Panthers is the entire team will be returning next season while the other teams will lose several talented players. That should pave the way for more success on the courts next fall.

“We are hoping the experience the girls got this year will help them for next year,” said Morris. “I’ve never had a team with zero seniors. It is so exciting to know that everyone will be back next year. They know they can compete with the other teams, but they know they are going to have to put in some work to do it. They are going to put in the time to be the best they can be on the court.”