Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond's Ava Andrew returns a shot during a Class 1A regional semifinal on Wednesday against Carroll Kuemper. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The St. Edmond girls tennis team is one win away from a return trip to the state tournament after taking care of Carroll Kuemper here Wednesday.

Behind five wins in singles, the Gaels advanced to the Class 1A, Region 7 championship where they will take on Dike-New Hartford.

That match is set for Saturday from Byrnes Park in Waterloo beginning at 10 a.m.

The eight regional champions advance to team state, a position St. Edmond (8-0 overall) reached this past spring for the first time in school history.

Ava Underberg, a senior, clinched the dual with the Knights (4-5) with a super-tiebreaker win at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 4-6 (10-7). Chloe Palmer, Abby Huss, Olivia Andrew and Sophia Schlienz all scored straight-set victories.

“Ava really dug deep and pulled out that win,” SEHS head coach Shawn Neverman said. “She beat her opponent earlier this year, 9-7, so she had confidence going in.

“As with most of our meets this season, our depth is what carried us to victory. The bottom of our lineup can compete with the top of our lineup at any given practice, so I have confidence they can take care of business against anybody.”

Ava Andrew fell at the No. 1 position to individual state singles qualifier Charlotte Schwabe. Andrew, a senior, took three games off Schwabe.

“When they met in the beginning of the season, Schwabe won 6-0, 6-0 over Ava,” Neverman said. “I thought Ava did a great job battling against a very tough opponent.”

Palmer dropped just two games at the No. 3 singles spot, while Huss lost just one. Schlienz posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory and Olivia Andrew won 6-0, 7-5.

Dike-New Hartford (14-1) advanced with a 5-0 regional semifinla win over Independence, which upset Webster City in the quarterfinals.

Team state for 1A takes place Oct. 6-7 in Pella.