VIRGINIA—Rock Ridge and Hibbing tennis players are well within striking distance of a state tennis berth after this first day of the Section 7A individual tournament held in Virginia.
Semifinal and final rounds are set to be held Thursday starting at 9 a.m. in Cloquet.
In singles, Rock Ridge’s Payton Marks earned a spot in the final four, along with Hibbing’s Whitaker Rewertz.
The Wolverines and Bluejackets comprise the entirety of the doubles final four with duos Kasey Lamppa/Peyton Bialke and Dawson Ruedebusch/Tyler Callister making it for Rock Ridge along with Hibbing’s Jack/Gabardi/Cooper Hendrickson and Keaton Petrick/Isaiah Hildenbrand.
In singles, Marks started his day taking on Marshall’s Barrett Grim and the Wolverine junior made short work of the freshman 6-0, 6-0.
Later, he faced off with Marshall’s Will Watson and escaped with a 6-2, 7-5 win. He’ll open play against Aitkin’s Zander Peterson Thursday for a spot in the singles championship.
“I liked the way Payton put together his matches today,” Rock Ridge head coach Jace Friedlieb said. “He’s still playing in those pressure situations that he hasn’t seen too often. When he gets put into them, sometimes they get heavy but he’s been handling them really well these last few weeks as the season gets tougher.”
Rewertz started play with Hermantown’s Ford Skytta and pulled off his first upset of the day, winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
He later faced off with Denfeld’s Mathias MacMillan, earning his second win of the day 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2).
Thursday, he’ll take on Cloquet’s Ethan Lavan in his semifinal.
“He had a great day,” Hibbing head coach Gary Conda said. “He’s young and he’s got that energy but he was playing with a lot of pace. He was making the other players work for the points and he was able to wear them down. For a young player, this is fantastic for him but he got about five hours of court time today so he’ll definitely need to rest up.”
In doubles, Hibbing’s Gabardi and Hendrickson were on and off quickly in the first round, defeating Stella Maris Academy’s Levi Lovely and Henry Hobert 6-0, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Cloquet’s Noah and Joey Bender 6-1, 6-3.
“They earned that top seed so their first opponents were pretty inexperienced,” Conda said. “But they played well and then in the second match they had some hiccups. I think things came together nicely for them in the end.”
They’ll take on Rock Ridge’s Dawson Ruedebusch and Tyler Callister, who picked up two wins over Hermantown’s Jace Christy and Preston McClimek (6-2, 6-0) and later Cloquet’s Ethan Doty and Max Sundquist (7-5, 6-2).
“That’s another senior pair that have played together for three years. Just like our other senior pair, I can see why they fit well together. They’ve had a really great day and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do tomorrow.”
On the other half of the bracket, Rock Ridge’s Lamppa and Bialke made short work of Denfeld’s Matt Eklund and Daniel Pueringer 6-0, 6-0. Later, they defeated Marshall’s Landon Wheeler and Van Schmickle 6-1, 6-3.
Lamppa and Bialke open play Thursday with Hibbing’s Petrick and Hildenbrand.
“Kasey and Peyton have always played well together,” Friedlieb said. “They’ve wanted to play together in a tournament like this for a while now and this was their opportunity. They showed why they wanted to do that and how well they can perform together. They played a really great match to end the day. Both matches were great and it was cool to see how they play together and play off each other.”
With the Wolverines full up on players heading into the final day of the tournament, Friedlieb says his players should be ready for the challenge.
“We prepare all season for the long days and the three-set matches. We know they’re coming at this time of the season. I think these guys are prepared physically so now the mental game is the big thing. Get them a lot of water, some food in them and a good night’s rest will be key to them attacking the day tomorrow.”
The ‘Jacket duo defeated Marshall’s Liam Perry-Spears and Oliver Odland 6-0, 6-0 before later winning over Hermantown’s Brody Mathews and Ben Kangas (6-2, 6-1).
“They’re the 3 seed and I think they played well enough. Things only get tougher from here. We’ve got both teams in the semis but now everything gets harder. I think all our guys are ready to get some rest.”
Area athletes falling short of the final four include Rock Ridge’s Rory Cope-Robinson and Hibbing’s Tyler Fisher.
Cope Robinson advanced out of the first round by defeating Aitkin’s Josh Stanley 7-5, 6-3, but ran into the top-seeded Lavan in the quarterfinals 6-0, 6-0.
Fisher pulled off the small upset in his first round match, taking down Hermantown’s Gabe Swenson 6-1, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, he fell to Aitkin’s Peterson 6-0, 6-0.
Play resumes Thursday at 9 a.m. in Cloquet. Matches may be moved indoors to the Virginia courts in case of inclement weather.
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