VALLEY CITY, ND. (NewsDakota.com) – Fargo North came to Valley City to face the undefeated Hi-Liners in boys tennis Tuesday, and left with a 6-3 win. It was the first loss of the season for the Hi-Liners.
The Spartans swept the singles matches while the Hi-Liners swept the doubles. Below are the results and Coach Nielson’s comments:
Today was an example of why sports are great – every match was winnable and every mach was losable today for both teams. This could possibly be the first time in the history of North Dakota tennis that one team sweeps the doubles and the other team sweeps the singles. Just crazy! Unfortunately for us, there are more singles matches than doubles matches…
In doubles, we won three tiebreakers. Bennett and Collin came back from a 6-2, 5-2 hole to force a second set tie-breaker and then continued to fight in the third set to win the match. Seth and Kai tried some Australian doubles and it worked well. Seth came into his own as a leader on the court in that match and Kai rose to the challenge with his partner. Blake and Austin played an uneven team of North’s #1 and #6 players and played ‘keep away’ from their #1 to take the match in straight sets. Great work today doubles teams.
With our doubles wins on the day, we are 14-1 in doubles on the season with our only loss due to an injury retirement. Let’s put that in perspective – the Hi-Liners had a doubles record of 8-7 against these same teams last year. For the overall record, the Hi-Liners were 2-3 against these same teams last year and are now 4-1 this year. Your hard work and dedication are paying off!
Our athletes are buying into what we coach and teach – mentally and strategically. We had a rough day in singles though. As our athletes are believing in the coaching, it is up to me as the coach to get them to the next level. Where we faltered today as a team was finishing singles points and playing each point with the utmost determination to win that point. We are playing solid points. We are believing in ourselves more than ever. We are playing cerebral tennis. If we are truly going to become a threat in the EDC, we need to finish points off and play with ferocity at all times.
Blake was our last match out and our entire team was able to watch the ending. Blake plays with this ferocity at all times and finishes points off. He won the first set, lost the second set, and then was up 5-2 in the third set when cramps set in. As Blake gives 100% on each point physically and mentally, his body was telling him no about 4 hours into him playing tennis on the day. He then went down 5-6 as Hallquist upped his game.
Blake asked me what the team score was at the 5-6 changeover. I told him that we already lost the team match. How easily could it have been for Blake to give up at that point. His body was telling him no and him winning had no impact on the team result. He came out and played each point with ferocity. His explosion to the ball, his attacking, and his footwork were impeccable – cramps or not! He won that game to force a third set tiebreaker to determine the match. In the tiebreaker, Blake was cramping between points. Tears were coming down his face with the excruciating pain. Yet – he played each point with determination to win. He played absolutely amazing tennis during this stretch which was unfathomable to all the spectators in attendance. He was down 5-3 and came back to tie it at 5-5. Hallquist took the match 7–5 in the tiebreaker ending an unforgettable match for those that watched.
As a team, we are mentally tougher than we ever have been. Greg Unruh, the Fargo North coach, told me that we are the most mentally tough Hi-Liner team that he has coached against. We could have easily faltered in doubles, but we persevered and played tennis. We did the same in singles, but fell short.
In tennis and in life, there are always things to learn and improve upon. Our team is amazing to work with and has bought-in to what we are coaching. We still have more gears than what we have shown. I believe our team can learn to shift into those gears and even be better than what we already are. Let’s continue on our team journey and see what heights we can attain. I’m proud of you, Hi-Liners!
JV Results: VC 12 FN 10
Ethan Bear won 7-5, 6-4
Alex Rogelstad lost 6-1
Trey Cope won 7-6
E.Bear/Cope won 6-3
Al.Rogelstad/Cope won 6-3 and lost 6-3
Al.Rogelstad/E.Bear won 7-5
Emmett Olson/Max Magnuson lost 6-4
Gabriel Little Dog/Gavin Swenson lost 6-4
Jacob Krueger/Jayden Johnson lost 6-1
J.Krueger/Yu Zheng lost 6-3, 6-2
Casey Krueger/Miles Taylor won 6-4
Olson/Little Dog won 6-1
C.Krueger/Olson lost 6-2
Magnuson/Swenson lost 7-5
Zheng/Johnson won 6-1
Taylor/Olson won 6-4
C.Krueger/Little Dog lost 6-1
Swenson/Johnson won 6-1
Krueger/Magnuson won 6-1
JV Thoughts:
Alex, Trey, and Ethan stayed up at the varsity courts today and played JV matches there. I was able to watch and coach them multiple times on the day. These three surpassed my expectations. Their strategy on the court, their teamwork, their attitude, and their effort were all very good. We had several come from behind victories showing that they never give up. We will be graduating three varsity players after this year. With these three showing what they can do, I believe we will continue to be competitive in the EDC. What is really awesome though, is that it isn’t just these three players that will be competing for those spots! We practice 12 varsity, but due to numbers, Casey and Max played at City Park which both of these JV players are coming into their own as well. Also, Miles and Emmett are two seventh graders that show excellent promise. Yu and Gavin continue to develop technique and understanding of the game. Jayden, Gabriel, Shaunn Wieser, and Jacob are working hard and it is easy to see their improvements. We have a great team and team mentality where we work together and cheer each other on. It is a privilege to coach such a great group of young men. Great job today, JV!
Next action is Thursday (barring rain) at Fargo Davies.