Emma Juarez Hageman, a sophomore from Mexico in her first year at Cotter, earned a trip to the girls’ tennis State tournament and stunned the crowd by coming in as an unseeded player and managed to defeat both the #2 and #4 seeds on her way to a third place finish.
The top 5 players in the 16 player State tourney draw are seeded and Emma was not among those top 5 in the coaches’ rankings entering the tournament.
After her opponent in the first round withdrew, giving Emma a 2-0, 2-0 victory by default she faced No. 2 seed Annika Harberts Ott of Providence Academy, in the quarterfinals. Hageman scored a huge upset, advancing to the semifinals by scores of 2-6, 6-4, and 6-4 in three long sets. Her gutty and unexpected triumph led to a feature story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
In the semi-finals against the #3 seed, Leah Maddock of Osakis, Emma started strong winning the first set 6-2, but dropped the second set 6-3 and the final set 6-1.
Emma rebounded later that day and defeated the #4 seed Casey Cronin of Holy Family Catholic to secure 3rd place and the bronze medal.
“I started my season nervous due to being around all new people, but managed to build friendships and find confidence on the team,” Emma said.
The tightly-knit community on Coach Anne Besek’s tennis team allowed her and the team to progress throughout the season, ultimately leading her to the state tournament.
“I always received support from the team, even when things were bad.”
Her favorite part of being at State was the new experience and learning that she was “capable of doing things if I put my mind to them.
“The most challenging part of playing in the State tournament was the nerves that come with competing in a high pressure situation,” Emma said.
One benefit of playing tennis at Cotter was Juarez-Hageman was able to get a lot of practice outside of her regular season practices, as many of the dorm students at Cotter play tennis.
Cotter’s connection to the Winona Tennis Center was another advantage for her, giving the athlete easy access to both indoor and outdoor courts.
Coaching also played a role in Emma’s success. Coach Besek was named the Section 1A 2023 Tennis Coach of the Year. Besek’s support and guidance helped Hageman grow into a better player and be more successful with game strategy. Assistant coach Matt Besek, Anne’s son, also helped prepare Emma for the pressure of the State tournament matches.
Emma’s family is considering her return to Cotter next year, but she is not sure of her plans as of now. Regardless of her decision, she will continue to play tennis as it is one of her favorite things, and she has made a memorable mark on the Cotter tennis program in her first season here.
