CLOQUET—Now set to make his third straight appearance at the big dance, Hibbing senior Cooper Hendrickson is no stranger to the state tennis tournament as he, along with teammate Jack Gabardi will be two of four Bluejackets at the Class A State Tennis Tournament.
Hendrickson and Gabardi defeated their own Hibbing teammates Keaton Petrick and Isaiah Hildenbrand in the 7A doubles final, securing state tournament berths for both pairs.
In singles, Rock Ridge junior Payton Marks punched his first ever individual state tournament berth, taking second to Cloquet’s Ethan Lavan.
The all-Bluejacket doubles final was set up early in the morning when Hendrickson and Gabardi took down Rock Ridge duo Tyler Callister and Dawson Ruedebusch 6-3, 6-2. On the other side of the bracket, Petrick and Hildenbrand beat a Wolverine pair themselves in Peyton Bialke and Kasey Lamppa 6-4, 7-5.
With their early success, Hibbing head coach Gary Conda said it was the aggressive nature of both of his teams that allowed for the all-HHS championship.
“They both came to play today,” Conda said. “They were aggressive. They took control of the net. That’s what they did. Both teams came forward and I thought they came forward more than Rock Ridge did. That gave us more opportunities and it paid off for us.”
With four his own players duking it out for a section crown, Conda said he stayed away from coaching during the match and just hoped his players would still take it seriously despite starting down their friends on the other side of the court.
“When it gets to that point, you can’t really say anything to either team because they already know each other so well. They knew there was the possibility for a true second match so they had to take it pretty seriously. It took them a while to get them but after a bit, both teams were playing pretty hard.”
In the end, it was Gabardi and Hendrickson that got the 6-4, 6-3 win over their teammates. The win gives Hendrickson his second 7A doubles crown after first winning it two years ago with former teammate Drew Anderson. Last year, Hendrickson and Anderson took second to Rock Ridge’s Jared Delich and Jake Bradach.
“It’s weird, because I usually play Cooper in singles,” Conda said. “Then when we get here, he jumps into doubles and somehow always finds a way to win. That’s all him. If I had him playing doubles all season, he’d probably be even better. The success he’s had has been fantastic.”
For the two Rock Ridge duos, the day ended with Bialke and Lamppa defeating Ruedebusch and Callister 7-5, 6-1. After a rough start for both teams in the semifinals, Rock Ridge head coach Jace Friedlieb was happy to see both pairs of seniors go out on their own terms.
“The seniors started a bit rough today. The doubles weren’t what we were expecting early in the morning,” their coach said. “We came out a little bit flat in both matches but I’m proud of them for the way they finished.
“They played a real match against each other and I think they’re going to live with that memory. They get to play with their best friends and end it on a good note. I hope that’s what they remember in the end and not what places they finished with.”
In singles, Rock Ridge’s Payton Marks started the day with a long three-set win over Aitkin’s Zander Peterson 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, setting up a championship match against the top-seeded favorite, Ethan Lavan of Cloquet.
In the end, Marks didn’t have enough steam to keep up with the defending section champ, but the Wolverine junior finished second which earned him a spot at state as well, 6-0, 6-0.
For his strong effort the last two days, Friedlieb said it was a well deserved runner-up finish.
“As a player who’s only been in this program for three years now, he’s a sure sign of the things that can happen when you put in a ton of work in the offseason. He was an extra last year that didn’t crack that top 10 but he came back this year and now he’s the runner-up singles player in the section. That’s amazing to me. I’m super proud of the work he’s put in and all he’s done for us this season at No. 1 singles.”
Just how much work did it take for Marks to make that jump? Friedlieb says picking up a part time job at the Virginia indoor courts to spend more time with the ball and racket paid showed his dedication.
“I think he saw his window with guys like Jake and Jared leaving. He wanted that spot. HE went for it. He got a job at the courts and was basically living there all winter. It paid off for him. He’s got a real nice game. The progression he’s had all season led to his best tennis today and it was awesome to see.”
In the championship match against Lavan, Friedlieb said it was clear Marks was fatigued playing his fourth contest in two days. Still, he fought on.
“It had been a long couple days and you could see that he was tired. That was getting to him so staying in that match and being competitive was his goal and he did that. There were a lot of deuce points. In the end, Ethan is a solid player, we know that as the defending section champ. At the end of the day, Payton did all he could and came out as the runner-up.”
In other singles action, Hibbing eighth grader Whitaker Rewertz saw his Cinderella run come to an end with a loss to Lavan in the semifinals 6-2, 6-0 and a loss to Peterson in the third place match 7-5, 6-4. Despite that, the strides he made over the last week were clear as could be to Conda.
“I swear, he got two times better by the end of this tournament. He was a player and people are starting to notice him. He catches on pretty quick to things and you can see he’s got a bright future with tennis.”
With plenty of years in front of him, Conda says Whitaker should head into the offseason with an extra sense of motivation.
“I think he’s a little fired up. He’s into his hockey and you can see why but I think he’s got a little more passion for tennis now too. He was down 3-0 in his first match of the tournament and the first thing he said to me was ‘this ain’t anything like hockey.’ He had his nerves but he shook them off and look at the run he had,”
For both of his doubles teams heading to state, Conda says the goal is to keep moving on and to play smart tennis.
“We just have to keep doing the right things. If we put first serves in, attack and play the net well, you stand a chance. It’s doubles. You have to play with no fear.”
For Rock Ridge, all five of their players in action Thursday will continue to prep for the team state tournament set for June 4-5 in Minneapolis. With just Marks advancing individually, Friedlieb says now is the time for the rest of his players to shift their focus back onto the team.
“Now they can get back to that team part of things. We’ll get a couple days off here and then hit hard for four days of practice next week. They’ve all been there before. They should know what to expect and I’m excited to see what they can do down at the state tournament as a team.”
Local News
Comments / 0