The phrase “Yeah baby!” was echoed from the stands of the Delano tennis courts last week as the Orono Girls Tennis team took on their rivals in the semifinals of the Section 5aa tournament. Despite a strong start, winning the first set and leading the second, the Tigers fought back, costing the Spartans their lead and, later, the tiebreaker, which put an end to the girls’ season.

Regardless of last week’s defeat, Orono Girls Tennis had an outstanding season, led by senior captains Kira Johnson, Coco McNae, and Cece Sorenson. They dominated the competition this year, winning 12 out of their 14 meets and acquiring the 3rd seed in the Section 5AA tournament.

“The season went really well. We were really proud of all our girls,” Senior captain Cece Sorenson said.

However, “Delano. They get us every year,” Coco McNae adds.

The girls find passion in their sport and have built a strong tennis community at Orono.

“It’s a lifelong sport, so you can play it forever,” Senior captain Coco McNae explains,

Part of building a strong community of girls means having each other’s backs in difficult matches.

“We do a lot of cheering… and we keep a lot of supportive energy going [during the match.]” Cece Sorenson explains. The most iconic of these cheers is, “Yeah Baby!” which never fails to create ‘a racket’ if you will.

Although last week’s loss at Delano wrapped up this year’s team play, the Spartans can still look forward to seeing players junior Mollie Hollerman, senior Cece Sorenson, senior Lauren Elam, senior Kenna Van Patten, senior Kira Johnson, and junior Bluma Molitor play this week in Individual Sections.

Individual Sections differ from team Sections, as instead of sending the whole team, schools select their best players to compete in singles and doubles matches for a state title.

The meet will be on Friday, October 10th, at Rogers Tennis Club, and the winners will advance to play on Monday, October 13th, for the state title.