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Can Lakeville North girls win it all?

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune, 10/25/11, 5:24PM CDT

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The girls are the top seed in the state soccer tourney. Eastview's boys are favored as well.

While football, volleyball and cross-country teams across the state get section play underway this week, state tournaments have begun in other sports. Here are some highlights.

Soccer

Unranked to begin the season, Lakeville North enters this week's Class 2A girls' soccer tournament undefeated (17-0-2) as the field's top seed.

The Panthers open play at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hopkins High School against Anoka (10-5-4).

Two other schools from the South Suburban Conference are in the eight-team mix.

Eastview (13-2-4) is No. 3 seed and plays Centennial (16-1-2) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Park. Unseeded Burnsville (15-4) takes on No. 2 Woodbury (15-3-1) in the game prior to that matchup.

Eastview is the lone south metro representative in the boys' soccer tournament, but the Lightning (18-0-1) enters the tournament as the favorite. The team enters its first state tournament appearance hot, having surrendered only four goals since a Sept. 20 tie against Burnsville.

Tennis

Once the team champions are crowned Wednesday in girls' tennis, the individual and doubles competition gets underway Thursday in both classes. There is a smattering of south-of-the-river flavor.

In Class 2A, Eagan junior Danielle Donahue is back after advancing to the state quarterfinals last season. Donahue will face Wayzata's Lucia Solis, a foreign-exchange student from Argentina, at 8 a.m. at the Baseline Tennis Center in the first round.

Rosemount's Victoria Norder also returns to state. The sophomore was knocked out in the first round last fall. She takes on Stillwater's Natalie Phippen in this year's first round, also at Baseline.

In doubles, twin sisters Elizaveta and Varvara Zelenina of Eagan are back in the state tournament as juniors. They qualified in 2009 as freshmen. Seniors Shelby Henderson and Erika Williams of Lakeville South also qualified for this year's event.

In Class 1A, Jordan juniors Drew DeCorsey and Alex Hancock begin state competition at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

True Team swimming

Northfield (1,586 points) finished fourth behind champion Hutchinson (2,073.5), Visitation (2,004) and Monticello (1,981.5) at the Class 1A True Team swimming and diving meet last week. Prior Lake (sixth), Rosemount (ninth) and Eastview (10th) competed in Class 2A.