Senior Alyssa Lam and junior Tianna Houske made a run at qualifying for state in doubles Oct. 18.
The two teamed up for the Prior Lake girls tennis team in the Section 2AA competition, losing a close three-setter in the semifinals to Maddie Prondzinski and Emilija Medzuikaite of Minnetonka (6-2, 3-6, 7-5).
Lam and Houske went 4-1 in in the tourney, earning a straight-set win over Madison Kamm and Rhyan Holmgren of St. Peter in the third-place match (6-2, 6-2).
Lam and Houske went 3-0 in the first round Oct. 13, winning all three matches in straight sets. They rolled over Tiegen Richards and Peyton Stevermer of Mankato East in the first round (6-2, 6-1), and followed with wins over Renn Corley and Ella Betters of Mankato West (6-2, 6-0) and Amelia Hildebrandt and Macy Weller of St. Peter (6-3, 6-2).
Top-ranked Minnetonka, the defending the Class AA state team champion, finished one-two in doubles to earn both state spots. The Skippers did the same in singles, finishing one-two, while also winning their sixth straight team title.
Juniors Rose Netz and Olivia Newman also competed in doubles for Prior Lake. They won in the first round over Kate Frauenholtz and Karson Schmid of New Ulm (6-1, 6-1), before falling in three sets to Payton Douglas and McKenna Schreiber of Mankato West (4-6, 6-3, 6-2).
In singles, junior Shelby Gambucci won two of three matches for the Lakers. She won in the first round over Payton Peterson of New Prague (6-0, 6-1) and followed beating Sydney Jacobs of Mankato East (6-0, 6-4).
Gambucci lost in the third round to Annika Southworth of St. Peter (6-0, 6-0).
Senior Madalyn Mische also competed in singles for Prior Lake and lost in the first round to Regan Loft of Marshall (6-4, 6-3).
In section team play, Prior Lake won two of three matches. They opened with a 7-0 win over Worthington in the first round Oct. 4 and followed with a 6-1 victory over Mankato West Oct. 6.
In the semifinals Oct. 11, the Lakers lost a close match to No. 7 Eden Prairie, falling 4-3. Three matches went to three sets with the Eagles winning two of them.
All three of Prior Lake’s wins came in singles. Houske won at No. 1 (5-7, 6-3, 1-0), as did ninth-grader Chloe Soundara at No. 3 (6-3, 6-2) and Gambucci at No. 4 (6-1, 6-1).
In doubles, Netz and Newman lost in three sets at the No. 1 spot (4-6, 7-6, 6-3), as did sophomores Tory Cvancara and Haven Fisher at No. 3 (7-5, 4-6, 6-4).
In beating Mankato West, Prior Lake swept all four singles matches. Houske won at No. 1 (6-0, 6-0), followed by Lam at No. 2 (6-0, 6-0), Soundara at No. 3 (6-2, 6-3) and Gambucci at No. 4 (6-1, 6-1).
Doubles wins went to Mische and sophomore Emily Eisma at No. 2 (6-2, 4-6, 11-9) and Cvancara and Fisher at No. 3 (6-4, 7-6).
Prior Lake finished the season with a 12-5 overall record, going 6-3 in the South Suburban Conference. It was the fourth straight year the Lakers lost in the semifinal round.
Prior Lake was one of state’s better programs from 2011 to 2018. In that span, the Lakers were the Section 3AA runner-up in 2011, before winning three straight Section 3AA crowns from 2012 to 2014.
Prior Lake was moved to Section 2AA in 2015, winning the title that season and again in 2016. The Lakers lost to Minnetonka in the section title match in both 2017 and 2018.
In 2019, Prior Lake loss to Minnetonka in the section semifinals. It was the first time in nine seasons the Lakers were not playing in a section final. There was no 2020 postseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
