REDWOOD FALLS -- Worthington Trojans Alec Langerud and Ben Schrieber placed third Tuesday in the Section 3A individual boys tennis tournament in Redwood Falls.
Langerud, a junior, and Schrieber, a freshman, defeated Connor Hagen and Sam Ostendorf of Montevideo in the first round of the tournament, 6-1, 6-0. They then beat Jordan Lorang and Will Rops of Pipestone Area 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. In their next matchup, they lost to Cole Paulson and Isaac Stiles of Pipestone Area, 1-6, 2-6. But they finished strong, overtaking Lac qui Parle Valley's Tyler Buer and Wylie Weibe 6-1, 6-0 to finish third.
Trojans Ian Barber and Ezra Bonnett competed in singles. Barber won one and lost one, and Bonnett lost his opener.
During the regular season, Langerud performed at No. 1 singles for the Trojans, and Schrieber alternated between No. 2 and No. 3 singles. After the tournament, WHS head coach Mike Marquardt praised Langerud for his hard work and growing confidence. "His confidence is growing and once his mental game becomes consistent, he'll be tough to beat. It was fun to watch him grow and learn as a doubles player in the tournament," he said.
Schrieber is a tall player who, like Langerud, will get better. "He has gained a better understanding of his overall game as well as the mental game," Marquardt said. "He has made changes to his serves and groundstrokes to increase his consistency level. The tournament helped improve his volleys and short court game by playing doubles with Alec. He's making great gains that have already started paying off."
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Marquardt added, "This was the most competitive individuals tournament I've ever been a part of. On any given day, any singles or doubles team could beat another. Worthington has enjoyed this section and, more importantly, the coaches who have become good friends over the past 26 years."
