LAKEVILLE, MN - It wasn’t easy, but Rachel Rohrabacher and Federico Staksrud are into Championship Sunday for the first time as a partnership.

To be fair, it’s never easy making a final, but it was an especially long day for the No. 12 seeds because each of their four matches on Friday went three games.

The tight moments were where the duo seemed to thrive, though, as they didn’t surrender more than seven points in any of those deciding games.

They took on No. 8 seeds Lea Jansen and Hayden Patriquin in the semis, who themselves survived an epic match against Anna Bright and Collin Johns earlier in the day.

After splitting the first two games, the teams switched sides in Game 3 with Rohrabacher and Staksrud trailing 5-6.

The timeout when switching ends seemed to be a necessary mental reset for both players and helped them regain the energy that they’re known for.

“I think it was all about keeping positive energy,” Staksrud explained. “I think when we’re silent, our level goes down a bit.”

Their level certainly rose after the switch, as they didn’t give up any more points and took Game 3 11-6.

Now into the mixed doubles final in just their third tournament together, Staksrud and Rohrabacher will face No. 1 seeds Vivienne David and Thomas Wilson on Championship Sunday.