Northfield boys tennis knocked out of team sections with 4-3 loss

In a closely contested meet, the Northfield High School boys tennis team lost a 4-3 decision at home against Rochester Century in the second round of the 2024 MSHSL Section 1AA team tournament on Wednesday, May 15.

The No. 3 seeded Raiders had received a first round bye, while No. 6 seed Century advanced out of the first round with a 7-0 win over Farmington. In the other first round matches, #5 seed John Marshall posted a 7-0 win over No. 12 seed Albert Lea, No. 10 seed Winona defeated No. 7 seed Austin 4-3 and No. 9 seed Lakeville South defeated No. 4 seed Faribault 6-1.

Teams advancing out of the second round along with Century were No. 1 seed Rochester Mayo with a 7-0 win over Lakeville South, John Marshall with a 5-2 win over No. 4 seed Owatonna and Lakeville North with a 6-1 win over Winona.

In the Section 1AA tournament semifinals, Mayo continued its postseason roll with a 7-0 win over John Marshall and Lakeville North defeated Century 6-1. Mayo, the state’s No. 2 ranked team, went on to win the Section 1AA team title with a 7-0 victory over Lakeville North (the state’s No. 8 ranked team) on Friday, May 17.

In the match against Century, Northfield’s Eli Bengston gained his team’s lone win in singles play with a 6-0, 7-6 victory against Rowan Gurung at fourth singles. At first singles, Blake Simon lost a three set battle 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, while Jackson Hessian (second singles) and Theo Menk (third singles) both lost in straight sets.

On the doubles side, Reuben Menk and partner Parker Sneary charted a 6-1, 6-4 win at second doubles and the duo of Kyle Bulfer and Dyson McBroom added a 6-3, 6-2 victory at third doubles. At first doubles, the Raiders’ Joe Grant and Carter Borovsky lost a 6-4, 6-4 match.

Next up for the Raiders will be a trip to the Section 1AA individual tournament on Tuesday, May 21 at Lakeville South High School. Simon and Hessian are scheduled to play in the singles competition, while the doubles teams representing NHS will be Grant and Borovsky along with Sneary and Reuben Menk.

The singles players and doubles teams advancing out of the Section 1AA individual tournament will then advance to the MSHSL Class AA state tournament schedule for June 4-7 at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.