Girls tennis: Litchfield upsets No. 1 Breck to move into state final
Oct. 22—MINNEAPOLIS — Emma Wuotila was unflappable in the biggest match of her tennis career.
Wuotila outlasted Breck eighth-grader Autumn Lin in a dogfight that nearly spanned three hours to lift the Litchfield girls tennis team to the Class A state championship for a second straight fall.
The junior's 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles gave the fourth-seeded Dragons their fourth point in their 4-3 upset win against top-seeded Breck at InnerCity Tennis.
Litchfield advances to play second-seeded St. James in the Class A state championship at roughly 4 p.m. back at InnerCity Tennis. The Saints earned a 6-1 win over third-seeded Foley.
"I'm filled with excitement," Wuotila said. "It's definitely my proudest tennis moment."
Wuotila, composed in the longest match of her career, followed in her older sister's footsteps.
Nearly a year ago today, then-senior Maya Wuotila propelled Litchfield to the Class A state championship after winning a long-lasting duel 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Oct. 23, 2024.
"Maya was my inspiration with her mentality," Emma said. "She's a really good mental player."
Asked whether or not she was more nervous about her match a year ago or watching Emma go the distance this year in a similar position, Maya was quick to answer.
"I was more nervous now," said Maya, who is in her freshman year of women's tennis at tCrown College in St. Bonifacius, an NCAA Division III program. "I'm so proud of Emma."
On the surface, it may seem Emma cruised through the third set, but anyone inside InnerCity Tennis watching the action on the fourth court would differ, including herself. Her and Lin's games went the distance and Emma came up clutch in various deuce situations.
"There were so many deuces and deep breaths taken," Emma said. "I just had to block everything out because I could see everyone lined up (courtside) and it was making me nervous. I played my game — it worked — and I stayed consistent."
Litchfield head coach Matt Draeger was emotional following Emma's win.
It capped off a marvelous day for his Dragons, who swept the doubles matches.
"Emma had multiple chances to end that match and a lot of kids will fall apart at that point. She just does what Emma does — sticks with it, competes and never worries," Draeger said. "There are not too many kids that are big when the moments are the most stressful."
Litchfield's doubles teams all won in straight sets.
The biggest of them all came at No. 2 doubles where junior Brynn Nagel and sophomore Elise Carlson narrowly won 7-6 (1), 7-6 (1) against juniors Maddie Kowal and Emma Zucchi.
The other two victories came from senior Elly Woelfel and sophomore Marcella Bruning, who won 6-2, 6-4 against freshmen Carolin Kuhn and Julia Zucchi at No. 1 doubles, and sophomore Kalie Ball and freshman Mya Iverson, who secured a 6-0, 6-4 victory against seniors Frances Duffy and Stella Birdsong at No. 3 doubles.
"We needed the doubles and they all came through," said Draeger, who saw his singles players all win in Tuesday's quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Pine City.
State title appearances are hard to come by, and as a long-time head coach, Draeger knows it.
His team upset the No. 1 squad in the state and has the opportunity to win its first state title.
"I'm proud, but we still have more work to do here," said a teary-eyed Draeger. "We knocked off Breck, which has been a thorn in our side, but now we're going to try to win a state championship against a really good team. … I just love our kids."
Lake City took six of the seven points in straight sets in its sweep of Montevideo in the state consolation semifinals on Tuesday.
In the sole match that advanced into a third set, Lake City's Julia Huettl and Erica Wallerich won 0-6, 6-4, 1-0 (8) against Montevideo sophomores Kamryn Bjerkeset and Becca Golden.
