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Chisago Lakes sophomore Claire Mickelson kept her hopes of a return trip to the state tournament alive with a pair of victories in the Section 4AA individual girls tennis tournament, highlighting the Wildcats' performances in singles and doubles competition.

Mickelson, who qualified for state as a freshman last year, entered the tournament as the second seed and had little trouble in her opening match, dispatching Annika Anderson of St. Anthony Village 6-1, 6-1.

She faced a tougher challenge in the quarterfinals against Adriyana Darsow of St. Francis, needing a first-set tiebreaker before pulling away for a 7-6, 6-0 victory to advance to the semifinals.

Fellow Wildcat Kinsley Daugs also picked up a postseason victory despite entering the tournament unseeded. The senior cruised past Fridley’s Anna Gbadoe 6-2, 6-1 in her opener before running into top-seeded Abby Manger of Mahtomedi in the quarterfinals, where she fell 6-1, 6-1.

In doubles action, the fourth-seeded combination of Anna Hageman and Elsa Behnke opened with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory over Totino-Grace's Annika Gustafson and Audrey Weeks. Their run came to an end in the quarterfinals, however, with a loss to fifth-seeded Berkley Blaisdell and Lydia Bartness of Mahtomedi.

The Wildcats' other doubles pairing of Annika Smith and Makenna Thorsen drew a tough opening-round matchup against third-seeded Hailey Hughes and Olivia Buttacavoli of St. Francis. The unseeded Chisago Lakes duo put up a fight but ultimately fell 6-3, 6-3.

With Mickelson advancing to the semifinals, the Wildcats still have an opportunity to send a singles player to the state tournament for the second consecutive season.

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