The finals were not enough to determine Amy Kelly's fate in hopes of making it to state, so the Packer senior tennis player must put it all together again today.

Kelly reached the finals of the individual Section 1A tournament and gained a play-back opportunity Wednesday at the Rochester Athletic Club. Rochester Mayo's top-seeded Caitlin Loprinzi pounded out wins over Kelly and Northfield's Christina Keesey en route to the state meet berth, but the second spot was up for grabs because Kelly lost to Loprinzi in the semifinals while never running into Keesey.

Their only other collision this season was in the sub-section finals last Thursday, which Keesey won 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. The two will come head-to-head today at the Owatonna Indoor Center as Kelly, rated ninth in Class AA, tries to avenge one of only four singles losses this season. The other three are to top-ranked Loprinzi.

Kelly cruised through her opening match by beating Eastview eighth-grader Meghan Williams, 6-2, 6-0, before meeting up with Loprinzi in the semifinals. Loprinzi overcame her slow start for the 6-2, 6-0 win, and continued her tear into the finals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Keesey.

Kelly held up her end of the bargain by bouncing out Emily Rogers of Owatonna, 6-0, 6-0, setting the stage for today's state-qualifier.

Kelly and AHS graduate Laurie Alonso qualified for the state doubles tournament each of the past two seasons, including a state title in 2000. The Packer pair placed second a year ago.

Packer pairs eliminated

The Austin High doubles team of Katie Erickson and Caitlin Jurgensen, who played singles throughout the regular season, had their careers cut short of state with a 1-2 day.

Seeded fourth, Erickson and Jurgensen got it going in the second set of a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Eastview's Dawn Olsen and Justine Allen. Mayo's top-seeded tandem of Katie Carr and Rachel Click put a halt to the Packer pair, 6-4, 6-2, but the loss did not eliminate Erickson and Jurgensen.

The Austin duo needed another win which, coupled with a Mayo victory in the finals, would create the same scenario Kelly faced in the singles bracket. But Rochester John Marshall's Joanna Mickelson and Anna Ritchie fought equally as hard as their Austin opponents in a 6-3, 6-4 decision.

"I was really hoping Katie and Caitlin would be able to make it to state," said AHS first-year coach Dave Handeland. "We were talking about it afterward how nice it would've been to have one more week with them because they (Erickson and Jurgensen) had potential."

Mayo's Click and Carr took first over Owatonna's Molly Hunt and Kenzie Kath. Erickson and Jurgensen defeated that same Owatonna team during last Thursday's sub-section meet, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the finals.

Austin sent two doubles teams to state last season, with Chelsea McColley and Lindy Swedberg joining Kelly and Alonso. The state tournament is Oct. 25-26 at the Northwest Athletic Club in Bloomington.