Court Queens: Valley City Tennis Finishes Regular Season Untouched 🎾
The dominance continues for the Valley City Hi-Liners girls tennis team. With a thrilling 5-4 victory over rival Red River High School, Valley City officially captured the EDC Regular Season Championship and secured the No. 1 seed heading into next week’s regional tournament.
And after an undefeated regular season, there is little question the Hi-Liners have earned their place as one of the premier programs in North Dakota girls tennis.
“This match has been building for the last couple weeks, and it lived up to the hype,” Coach Jim Nielson said following the emotional win.
The championship-clinching moment fittingly came from senior standout Georgia Zaun, who battled back after dropping the opening set at No. 1 singles to defeat Ruby Schneider in three sets and seal the victory for the Hi-Liners.
It was the type of gritty comeback that has defined this Valley City team all season long.
Coach Nielson described how Zaun adjusted after a difficult opening set.
“Georgia found her spots and attacked the ball,” Nielson said. “She played her game from then on and sealed the championship.”
The win capped off an extraordinary regular season for the Hi-Liners, who finished 10-0 in EDC play and 12-0 overall. Their consistency across the lineup has been staggering:
79-11 individual EDC match record
142-27 overall individual match record (84.1%)
29-1 doubles record in EDC play
Even more impressive, sisters Kailee Nielson and Skye Nielson remain undefeated on the season at 24-0.
But this season did not happen overnight.
This is the payoff for years of investment, training, summer matches, early mornings, and hundreds upon hundreds of hours spent refining the craft. Coach Nielson reflected heavily on the journey of this senior class after the match, especially seniors Georgia Zaun and Kailee Nielson, who have been pillars of the program since seventh grade.
“Looking back on Kailee and Georgia’s careers as Hi-Liners, they gave everything they could to each other and Hi-Liner tennis,” Nielson said. “Since those early days, they have amassed almost 300 combined wins.”
The senior night atmosphere only added to the emotion of the evening. Valley City honored six seniors — Georgia Zaun, Kailee Nielson, Rylyn Johnson, Kinlee Sufficool, Alyssa, and Faith — representing a group that helped continue building one of the state’s premier tennis cultures.
And perhaps what makes this group especially unique is the growth of the program itself. Some players started tennis in middle school. Others joined much later. Yet all contributed to the championship standard Valley City now carries.
“Tennis is probably one of the few sports that can grow from 7th-12th grade,” Nielson said. “We are overjoyed that these girls joined our program to learn and cherish the game that so many of our players and community love.”
The match itself showcased just how complete this Hi-Liner team has become.
Zaun and Kailee Nielson rebounded from an early deficit to dominate at No. 1 doubles. Skye Nielson and Kinlee Sufficool delivered arguably the match of the night at No. 2 doubles, rallying late in a tense tiebreaker victory against one of the state’s top returning doubles teams.
Meanwhile, Kailee and Skye continued their season-long dominance in singles play.
“Kailee and Skye continued their domination varying their serves, shot selections, defensive balls, lobs, and net games,” Nielson said.
Even in defeat, the growth mindset of the program showed through. Coach Nielson specifically praised Kinlee Sufficool for her resilience and development in a hard-fought third-set tiebreak loss.
“The loss is not the story,” he said. “The story is that she learned a ton on the court and never gave up.”
Now, Valley City turns its attention toward postseason play as the undefeated No. 1 seed in the region tournament next Thursday in Fargo.
And with the way the Hi-Liners are playing, there is a growing feeling around the state that this team may not simply be chasing a regional title anymore.
They may very well be the favorites to bring home a state championship. 🎾🏆
Season Rewind: Years of Work Paying Off
This Valley City team did not come out of nowhere.
The core of this roster has spent years building toward this moment — countless summer practices, offseason tournaments, extra matches, and years spent learning the details of the sport. The result is one of the most complete and experienced teams the Hi-Liners have fielded in recent memory.
Coach Matt Nielson reflected on how much this senior class has poured into the program over the years.
“Looking back on Kailee and Georgia’s careers as Hi-Liners, they gave everything they could to each other and Hi-Liner tennis,” Nielson said.
That commitment has turned Valley City into a program standard-bearer in the EDC. The Hi-Liners dominated through the regular season with depth at every level of the lineup, elite doubles play, and veteran leadership that consistently showed up in pressure moments.
The seniors helped continue building a culture where players improve year after year — whether they started tennis in seventh grade or joined much later in high school.
“We are overjoyed that these girls joined our program to learn and cherish the game that so many of our players and community love,” Nielson said.
Now the Hi-Liners head into postseason play undefeated, battle-tested, and carrying the expectations that come with being the top team in the region.
And after the way they handled the regular season, Valley City has every reason to believe this group can make a serious run at a state championship. 🏆
Photos courtesy of Alyssa Thomsen Photography
