The Northfield High School boys tennis team got its postseason schedule started with a trip to the Big 9 Tournament on Saturday, May 11 in Rochester.
The Raiders turned in several impressive performances at the tournament, as five out of the seven positions made it to the finals or semifinals.
In singles play, Eli Bengston continued to chart strong numbers with a second-place finish in the fourth singles bracket. After receiving a first round bye, Bengston opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over his opponent from Red Wing. He then gained a 6-4, 6-0 win in the semifinals before losing to top seed Blake Thackery from Rochester Mayo in the title match 6-0, 6-1.
Northfield’s other second place finish went to the third doubles team of Dyson McBroom and Kyle Bulfer. The pair earned a first round bye and then gained a 6-0, 6-2 win in the quarterfinals before posting a 6-0, 6-1 win in the semifinals against Red Wing. In the championship match, Mayo’s Sam Pickering and John Trygstad defeated McBroom and Bulfer 6-4, 6-0.
In first singles play, Blake Simon placed fourth and Theo Menk placed fourth in the third singles bracket for Northfield. At second doubles, Parker Sneary and Reuben Menk also placed fourth at the Big 9 tournament.
“My team did awesome! Twelve teams, 120 athletes, and three of my starting positions got fourth place (first singles, third singles and second doubles), and two got second place (third doubles and fourth singles) — losing only to Mayo, who is the best in the state,” NHS coach Erik Swenson said.
He added, “My first and second doubles teams would have also finished second place but the other coaches changed their doubles lineups and used first and second singles guys instead, and vice versa for their singles lineups. My first and second doubles were undefeated all season except for Mayo, and the other coaches respected their skill level and changed their lineups accordingly so we wouldn’t sweep in doubles like we did all season.”
No. 3 seed Northfield received a first round bye in the upcoming Section 1AA team tournament and it will begin play in the section tournament on Wednesday, May 15 with a match against the winner of the Farmington/Rochester Century first round match. The Section 1AA team tournament semifinals and finals will then be played on Friday, May 17.
Earlier in the week, Northfield gained a 6-1 victory at Lakeville South on May 9. Simon battled to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win at first singles and Jackson Hessian scored a 6-4, 7-5 win at second singles. Bengston completed the singles wins with a 6-1 6-4 decision at fourth singles.
In doubles play, Northfield swept all three positions as Joe Grant and Carter Borovsky won 6-0, 6-4 at first doubles. Reuben Menk and Parker Sneaky won 6-4, 6-3 at second doubles and Bulfer and McBroom won 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 at third doubles.
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