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The North Branch girls tennis team is back in familiar territory as the Vikings continue their march through the Section 7AA tournament.

The Vikings got off to a strong start in this year's postseason, taking care of Duluth Denfeld in their section opener before knocking off Grand Rapids 5-2 in the next round.

Rebekah Wurdemann, Evelyn O'Donnell and Cosette Trampe each won both of their matches in straight sets, while the doubles teams came up with a couple of important victories against Grand Rapids to help the Vikings advance.

North Branch 6, Duluth Denfeld 1

The Vikings didn't have much trouble against the Hunters, as Wurdemann and O'Donnell combined to lose just one game in their two matches.

Wurdemann, a senior, made quick work of Anissa MacMillan at first singles, winning 6-0, 6-1, while 

O'Donnell, a junior, was even more dominant in a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Olivia Pipho at second singles.

Trampe, another senior, gave the Vikings their third singles victory of the match, defeating Aubry Freberg 6-1, 6-4 at fourth singles.

North Branch's only singles loss came at the third spot, where sophomore June Peterson gave Vanessa Pascone a battle before falling 6-4, 7-5.

North Branch 5, Grand Rapids 2

The Vikings had a little more work to do against Grand Rapids, particularly in doubles, but their strength at the top of the singles lineup again gave them a nice cushion.

Wurdemann continued her impressive postseason with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Emma Muller at first singles, and O'Donnell matched that score with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Charlotte Moss at second singles.

Trampe dispatched Alaina Lloyd 6-2, 6-1 at fourth singles.

The Thunderhawks picked up their lone singles point at third singles, where Harper Staskivige defeated Peterson 6-4, 6-3.

That left the Vikings needing two wins out of the three doubles matches, and they got them, although neither came particularly easily.

At first doubles, seniors Charlotte Santjer and Julia Schlagel had to survive a first-set tiebreaker against Natalie Wick and Anna Gebhart before taking control of the match in the second set for a 7-6, 6-2 victory.

The biggest battle of the day came at third doubles, where Brianna Bjerketvedt and Sophia Podoll found themselves in an early hole after dropping the opening set 6-2 to Alyssa Ohman and Molly Dick.

The North Branch duo didn't fold, however, grinding out a 7-5 win in the second set before finishing off the comeback with a 6-4 victory in the third to give the Vikings another crucial team point.

Grand Rapids managed its other victory at second doubles, where Avery Nissen and Jayna Hahn edged Eliana Smit and Ainslee Hunter 7-6, 6-3.

The win pushed North Branch into the Section 7AA championship match against top seeded Rock Ridge on Tuesday, October 13.

With Wurdemann, O'Donnell and Trampe providing a steady presence in singles and the doubles lineup showing it can pull out tight matches, head coach Joel Santjer's squad has plenty of reasons to be optimistic as the competition gets tougher in the later rounds of the section tournament.

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