Boys tennis roundup: Minnewaska makes it 2 section titles in a row
May 20—FARGO, N.D. — The Minnewaska boys tennis team is headed back to state.
The top-seeded Lakers clinched their second straight Section 8A team championship with a 6-1 victory over third-seeded Crookston Tuesday at the Courts Plus Tennis Center.
Minnewaska is state bound for the third time in four seasons (2025, '24, '22).
The Class A team state tournament takes place on June 3-4 at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
The Lakers swept doubles play against the Pirates. At No. 1 doubles, senior Riley Thorfinnson and sophomore Marshall Kopp beat Crookston's Hudson Rick and Jack Everett, 7-6, 7-5. Then at No. 2 doubles, sophomore Landon Schiffler and freshman Xavier Johnson also won 7-6, 7-5 over Crookston's Colton Osborn and Alex Zammert. Minnewaska freshmen Carson Beyer and Easton Palmer completed the doubles sweep at No. 3, 6-3, 6-2.
Tenzin Dahl, Drew Bleick and Carter LeClair all won at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles for the Lakers. Dahl beat Reggie Winjum, 6-2, 6-0. Bleick beat Grant Funk, 6-1, 6-0. LeClair came through with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Gunnar Groven.
New London-Spicer and Minnewaska each have players in the hunt to make the Class A state tournament as individuals after Day 1 of the Section 8A individual tournament at the Courts Plus Tennis Center in Fargo, North Dakota.
In the singles tournament, NLS' Jowell Gamez is in the semifinals. The top seed in the tournament, Gamez reached the final four with wins over East Grand Forks' Brock Stauss (6-0, 6-0) and Detroit Lakes' Jude Houglum (6-1, 6-0). Games faces fifth-seeded Aaden Wavra of East Grand Forks in the semis. Second-seeded Jett Cornelius of Thief River Falls faces third-seeded Reggie Winjum of Crookston in the other singles semi.
Minnewaska's doubles teams got the top two seeds. Both are in the semifinals.
The Lakers' Drew Bleick and Carter LeClair are the top-seeded team in the doubles tournament. They reached the semis after wins against Osakis' Dylan Hetland and Drew VanNyhuis (6-1, 6-0) and Detroit Lakes' Damarion Moss and Aiden Askelson (6-0, 6-0). Bleick and LeClaire play the fifth-seeded team from Thief River Falls, Spencer Hempel and Lucas Rantanen in the semis.
The No. 2-seeded duo of Tenzin Dahl and Marshall Kopp beat East Grand Forks' Oliver Kalenze and Brady Anderson (6-2, 6-1) and Crookston's Gunnar Groven and Grant Funk (6-0, 7-5). Dahl and Kopp face off with the third-seeded pair of Nick Buboltz and Max Mercil from Detroit Lakes.
Day 2 of the tournament concludes Wednesday back at the Courts Plus Tennis Center.
