WHS TENNIS: LHS, WHS send 8 to tennis semis

REDWOOD FALLS — The individual boys’ tennis tournament began Thursday at Redwood Valley with Luverne’s Joey Vajgrt and Worthington’s Dan Wetering moving to the Section 3A semifinals in singles and WHS duos Carter Lindner and Andrew Johnson and Matt Sorensen and Jonah Oberloh, along with LHS’s Dustin Deutsch and Jonny Vajgrt moving to the semifinals in doubles.

“It was an incredibly long day, but it was well worth it,” WHS coach Mike Marquardt said.

As the No. 9 seed, Lindner and Johnson won their first match handily at 6-2, 6-1, but pulled off an upset in their second-round match, defeating LHS’s top-seeded team of Ethan Nelson and Blake Zielger 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the finals.

“They were hitting their shots and doing what they were supposed to be doing,” Marquardt said. “When you beat the No. 1 team 6-3, 6-1, you make a statement.”

Joey Vajgrt had one hiccup en route to the semifinals. He cruised in the first round, 6-0 6-0, but struggled in his first set of the second round, winning 7-5 before putting things away at 6-0 in the second set.

“Joey had his hands full in the second match,” LHS coach Greg Antoine said. “He was down 5-4 in the first set and came back to win.

“A big factor in the turnaround was his ability to get to the net and cause problems.”

Behind a 6-0, 6-1 win in the first round and a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 battle in the second round, Wetering will take on Joey Vajgrt for the fourth time this season. Wetering is yet to beat Vajgrt on the season.

“There’s no surprises with Dan and Joey,” Marquardt said. “All the would haves, could haves and should haves he put on through this year against Vajgrt, he can get rid of with a win.”

Deutsch and Jonny Vajgrt will take on Sorensen and Oberloh in the semifinals thanks to two 6-0, 6-0 wins for Deutsch and Vajgrt.

“Dustin and Jonny were in cruise control today,” Antoine said. “Hopefully that momentum will carry into Tuesday.”

The road to the semifinals wasn’t so easy for Sorensen and Oberloh. The Trojan duo swept the first round 6-0, 6-0, but were pushed to the brink in the second round, eventually winning 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 to advance.

The semifinals and finals wil be held at Redwood Valley Tuesday.

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