SIOUX FALLS - Sioux Falls O'Gorman stormed through the semifinal round of the state tennis tournament on Friday to advance all six girls into the singles championship matches this afternoon.

In addition, all three Knights doubles teams have advanced to the semifinals which will be played this morning.

After Friday's action, the Knights had a solid 572-502 lead over second place Rapid City Stevens.

But the Raiders will have to fight off Roosevelt (470) and Lincoln (422) to hold the second-place spot.

Knights coach Don Barnes said that, although his team is still winning, it hasn't been easy.

"We had a couple of girls who were down early," Barnes said. "But they fought through it and pulled it out - and to do that, we have to be pleased."

In the battle for second, Stevens may have the upper hand with three singles players reaching the finals, while the Rough Riders have two finalists and Lincoln has one.

In doubles, Stevens has all three teams still alive, Roosevelt two and Lincoln one.

During the season, the Knights compiled a 26-0 record, handing Stevens (22-3) their only three losses.

"O'Gorman is just too deep and so mentally strong," said Stevens coach Jason Olson, whose team is the three-time defending champions.

"Realistically, our goal was to get second place, but we could be anywhere from second to fourth," he said. "We've been on top for a while and if we can get second, we'll be OK with that. But it will be a battle."

Theresa Petrasko at No. 1, Meg Townsend at No. 2, Hannah Vandemark at No. 3 and Erin Hoffmann at No. 4 are all undefeated for the Knights this season, while Katie Schwebach at No. 6 has lost only once and No. 5 Chandler Nielsen just twice.

Both of Nielsen's losses were to Stevens' Sydney Moyle, whom she has also beaten twice. The two meet in the No. 5 championship today.

Petrasko defeated Stevens' Lauren Shultz 6-4, 6-4 for the third time this year in Friday's semifinal, but this was the closest match.

"I just wanted to play my best and have fun and hoped that my best was good enough to win," Petrasko said.

She will meet Lincoln's Hannah Gebauer in the finals, who defeated Kristi Meyers of Roosevelt 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Friday.

"It was really a good match, and I just held my confidence in the third set - I really wanted it," Gebauer said. "Tomorrow, I'll have to remain positive and be consistent."

The Knights' Meg Townsend also relied on her confidence to defeat Anna Jones of Watertown 6-4, 6-4 in No. 2 singles.

"I made a few errors, and she forced me to up my game," Townsend said.

Townsend will battle Sarah Hamre of Roosevelt in the No. 2 finals.

With the battle lines drawn for the final day's action, Roosevelt coach Terry Grove said his squad "will give it a shot for second place.

"It would have been easier if we had won one more match, but we won't get greedy - our girls did a great job," he said. "They worked hard all year to get where we're at - we've had more ups than downs."

Lincoln coach Tom Krueger said his squad probably lost too many matches to make a strong push for second.

"It all comes down to what other teams do now," he said.

Whatever the outcome of this year's tournament, next year is already shaping up to be another showdown between O'Gorman and Stevens since both teams returning their entire lineups.