WHS BOYS' TENNIS: Worthington outduels LQPV/D-B

WORTHINGTON — The top spots at singles went down for Worthington’s boys’ tennis team Monday, but the rest of the Trojans stepped up, as they knocked off Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 5-2.

“They were good battles at No. 1 and No. 2 singles,” WHS coach Mike Marquardt said. “(LQPV/D-B’s Jack and Jess Hansen) really work at it and travel and go to tournaments.

“They are very consistent and they put in the work. I’m sure we’ll see them again and hopefully we use what we learned today against them.”

WHS’s Dan Wetering fell to Jack Hansen at No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-1 and Lance Homan fell to Jess Hansen 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles for the Trojans.

From there, Worthington swept. Carter Lindner defeated Conrad Matthies 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles and Andrew Johnson knocked off Cody McKesson at No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-0 to wrap up singles.

In doubles action, Jonah Oberloh and Matt Sorensen defeated Ryan Schulz and Kelvin Chen 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, A.J. Hayenga and Dillon Pedersen defeated Ryan Schueller and Keith Abraham at No. 2 doubles 6-0, 6-2 and Ben Doeden and Travis Vuong cruised by Brenden Schiltching and Harrison Risch 6-0, 6-0 to round out the doubles scoring.

“We had a few hiccups at the beginning,” Marquardt said. “The pace of the ball wasn’t as quick as we would have liked, but everybody stepped up and we got a win.

“Our volleys have to be crisper. They are floating the balls to the right spot, but they are giving other teams too much time to run them down. We’re too good to be giving teams three or four chances.”

The win puts Worthingon at 9-2 on the season. With only two losses in the section coming to Luverne, which is undefeated in conference, the Trojans have all but wrapped up the No. 2 seed for the section tournament.

“We’ll find out officially Wednesday, but I can say with confidence I think we’ll be the No. 2 seed,” Marquardt said. “It shows all the hard work we’ve put in.

“Hopefully, at the tournament, we can get to the finals and pull off an upset.”

Worthington closes out the regular season today at Blue Earth.

Daily Globe Sports Editor Chris Murphy may be reached at 376-7328.

Tags: sports, prep, tennis, trojans