The loss officially ended the Tigers' quality team season that saw them post an 11-6 record. The 11 wins were the most by a Farmington girls' team in more than a decade.
The opening round defeat wasn't helped by the loss of No. 1 singles player Megan Stivers who was recently diagnosed with mononucleosis. Her absence caused coach Jack Olwell to shuffle his lineup and move many of his singles players to unfamiliar positions.
Olwell wasn't making any excuses for the loss, however, noting the Huskies have a very talented squad.
"They were as advertised," he said, "very strong at all positions. They had too many offensive weapons. Even though our defense was stout, Owatonna dictated on most points."
The best effort of the day for the Tigers came at No. 1 doubles where Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost on a third-set super tiebreaker 0-6, 6-3 (2-10).
"Owatonna had superior weapons which the twins eventually neutralized but they made some uncharacteristic errors," Olwell said. "Owatonna picked up their game in the super tie-breaker."
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| The Fairchild Twins (above) lost in super tie-breaker (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
Owatonna 7 Farmington 0
No. 1 singles: Ryan Jara lost 1-6 2-6
No. 2 singles: Jessie Novotny lost 0-6 2-6
No. 3 singles: Callie Olmscheid lost 0-6 0-6
No. 4 singles: Molly Rudorfer lost 1-6 1-6
No. 1 doubles: Beth and Lindsey Fairchild lost 0-6 6-3 (2-10)
No. 2 doubles: Sam Gallagher and Hannah Toomey lost 1-6 1-6 I thought played some good tennis
No. 3 doubles: Kayla Rees and Becky Genzler lost 1-6 2-6
