Engler, Fossler use teamwork to achieve title

LINCOLN - Teamwork helped Beatrice junior Amber Engler and sophomore Daleigh Fossler win a state championship in girls tennis last week.

Engler and Fossler used teamwork to claim the Class B No. 2 doubles championship at the Nebraska State High School Girls Tennis Championships in Lincoln Friday.

Friday morning, Engler and Fossler downed Omaha Duchesne’s Jennifer Engel and Kate Webb, 6-1, 6-1, earning the right to advance to the state title match.

Although Duchesne is a River Cities Conference foe, Engler and Fossler hadn’t played Engel and Webb previously this season.

Engler said she and Fossler expected the Duchesne match to be the “hardest” of the day. “We came out and took a lot of energy away from Duchesne early,” Engler said. “We played our game.”

The Beatrice pair were able to “get in (Duchesne’s) heads,” Fossler said.

“We were playing well,” Fossler said.

While they had not played the Duchesne team before, Engler and Fossler had faced their finals opponents from Kearney Catholic before.

“We played them in the Beatrice/Pius Invite and we beat them,” Fossler said. “We knew after we beat Duchesne we had a really good chance to win the state championship.”

In the state final against Kearney Catholic’s Ellen Baldwin and Janna Montgomery, Engler and Fossler won 6-2, 6-3.

Engler said the key against Kearney Catholic was to be aggressive.

“We had to play to win,” Engler said. “We couldn’t play not to get beat.”

There wasn’t any special strategy for the championship match, Fossler said.

“We just wanted to keep doing what we’d been doing,” Fossler said. “What we were doing was working.” Fossler said the duo wanted to keep the ball in and, if they made mistakes, make sure they were “aggressive mistakes.”

After receiving a first-round bye, Engler and Fossler defeated Omaha Gross’ Meghan Zimmerman and Kacie Black 6-2, 6-0, in the second round and downed Omaha Skutt’s Marie Krause and Margaret Comody 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, in the quarterfinals.

Engler and Fossler said they were confident in their ability to win the state after knocking off Skutt in the quarterfinals.

Last year, at No. 1 doubles, Engler and Fossler won two matches before falling to an Omaha Skutt to in the quarterfinals.

Having played together at state previously was a plus for the Beatrice doubles team.

“We knew we could compete with the best, because last year we played No. 1 doubles,” Engler said.

Engler said the duo worked hard this year toward their goal of winning a state title.

“We stayed after practice and did whatever it took,” Engler said. “We worked on every little thing that would help us.”

When it came to playing in the state final, Fossler said “being aggressive” was a key for the Beatrice pair.

“We didn’t let up,” Fossler said. “If we’re aggressive, we play really well and we know that.”

Engler said she and Fossler enjoy playing doubles together and are able to forget about mistakes and move on.

Both said they like to play doubles better than singles.

“In doubles, you can carry each other,” Engler said. “If one person is down, you have someone else to count on.”

“We always have each other’s back,” Fossler added.

While Engler and Fossler were playing in their championship match, Beatrice’s No. 1 doubles team of Mallory Johnsen and Jamie Gay were playing for a state title on an adjacent court.

Johnsen and Gay finished as the state runners-up, falling to Kearney Catholic’s Nickola Messbarger and Molly Heeney in a tiebreaker in the championship final.

As a team, Beatrice finished fifth overall in the final Class B standings with 26 points.

While Johnsen and Gay are seniors, the rest of Beatrice’s state team, including singles players freshman Shelby Lauritsen and junior Betsy Havekost, will return next year.

There are will also be a number of other players with limited varsity experience returning.

Engler and Fossler know, as defending state champions, they’ll be looked to for leadership. “Everybody will count on us to be good,” Engler said.

The pair said they’ll continue to work on their games during the off-season and try to prepare for another run at a state title.

For now, though, they’re content to enjoy their current state championship.

“I’ll remember this for the rest of my life,” Engler said. “It’s a good feeling.”

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Fossler said.