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After canceling on Tuesday due to inclement weather, the Flagstaff girls tennis team won 6-3 at home against Prescott and progressed to the quarterfinals in the Division II state championship tournament to face Canyon Del Oro, the third seed, on Tuesday.

The match started with the singles flights and four of the six Eagles won their matches. This put the Eagles in a comfortable 4-2 lead going into the doubles flights. Josie Shinkle, Lynneah Birdno, Annika Didovic and Ana Drinen all won their singles matches.

Then, Birdono and Shinkle on the No. 3 court were the first to finish in doubles and clinched the win for their team, 8-2. They scored the fifth point for the Eagles, who are the sixth seed in the tournament.

“They’ve responded. We’ve had some tough matches, and it’s only going to get tougher, but they’ve already been there,� Eagles head coach Steve Boadway said. “They’ve already seen Notre Dame Prep, they’ve already seen Canyon Del Oro, they’ve seen Prescott, and they have responded in every way.�

Shinkle and Birdno are 4-3 in their doubles matches this year.

Their last loss was at Prescott just two weeks prior, and Birdno said that they were striving for a different result against 11th-seeded Prescott.

“I think the fact it’s the home courts, that’s an advantage,� Birdno said. “We didn’t have to travel. I like these courts; they are good to us. I lost last time, but I won this time, so I guess that’s something different. It’s revenge.�

The want for a comeback fueled Birdno and Shinkle as they dominated in their doubles flight. They went on a huge 6-1 scoring run to start, due in part to Birdno’s athletic strength from the other sports she plays throughout the year. Birdno plays flag football in the fall, and Boadway said her strength was important in the win over Prescott.

She shot the ball down the court and made it difficult for Prescott to recover. While the Badgers No. 3 pair huffed and puffed their way through the match, Birdno and Shinkle were steady and maintained their endurance.

“Lynneah and Josie, they just played,� Boadway said. “Both their singles won, and they got a point [in the doubles]. So, they got three points out of our six right there, and that’s how important it is to get the bottom half of your lineup. You have to have your five and six and your No. 3 doubles get those points because on top it’s a little harder.�

The No. 2 pair with Annika Didovic and Kaitlyn Barr were successful 8-3 in their doubles flight as well, bringing the score to 6-2 as the No. 1 pair finished their battle.

Flagstaff’s No. 1 pair with Autumn Didovic and Ana Drinen volleyed back and forth with Prescott for close to an hour. They tied 7-7 and 8-8 before Prescott put themselves on top 9-8 to close the contest.

Rather than having an entire week to rest and relax before the next round, due to the change in scheduling, Flagstaff will turn around and play the quarterfinals at Canyon Del Oro on Tuesday.

“I’m a little nervous. We’ve played them before, and they’re a good team, but I don’t know,� Birdno said. “We’ll just do our best. We will go in there, try our best and see if we can win this time.�

Autumn Didovic and Ana Drinen also participated in the D-II singles tournament, and Annika Didovic and Barr competed together in the doubles championship tournament on Friday at Mesa Tennis Center.