Athletes of the week

There's no question that Benilde-St. Margaret's felt the pressure.

Ranked No. 1 in Class 1A since the second week of the season, the Red Knights had fallen one game short of the state tournament the past two years.

So winning the Class 1A, Section 6 championship was foremost on the minds of the players, Eckerline said.

"We've got 17 seniors on the roster," he said. "We've been gunning to make it to state all year. There was definitely a lot of pressure. After we moved up to No. 1, our coach talked to us a lot about having a target on our backs."

Eckerline, a midfielder, was at the forefront of the Red Knights' 6-0 victory over Waconia in the section finals, netting the first hat trick of his career.

"We always talk about the celebrations we're going to do when we score, but by the time [my] third goal went in, I was so shocked I didn't know what to do," he said. "The hats were just pouring down."

The game capped an impressive three-game run by the senior, who had five goals and an assist in three games.

The senior quarterback led the Wildcats to an impressive 28-7 victory over Rosemount. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 198 yards and touchdowns of 14, 13 and 6 yards. He also led the team in rushing with 26 carries for 149 yards.

The senior teamed with sophomore Summer Brills to win the Class 2A, Section 5 doubles championship. It was the third section doubles championship of her career, all with a different partner.

The Cougars stopped a two-game slide with a convincing 43-7 victory over Burnsville. Heller, a senior, caught 10 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns and rushed once for a 15-yard touchdown.

The sophomore lost the first set of the Class 2A, Section 3 singles final to rival Danielle Donahue of Eagan, then battled back to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the state tournament for the third consecutive season.

Solis, a senior exchange student from Argentina, never had played on hard courts until coming to the United States. She upset two Edina players, Caroline Ward in the semifinals and Meghana Vasireddy in the finals, en route to the Class 2A, Section 6 singles championship.