Burns, Henkels recover; Trojans beat YME 5-2 in tennis

Worthington Trojans' No. 1 doubles player Quentin Burns (left) watches as his partner, Tyson Henkels, keeps a rally alive with a leaping backhand against Yellow Medicine East's Austin Canatsey and Isaac Olevson Tuesday.

By Doug Wolter

May 10, 2022 08:21 PM

WORTHINGTON -- Quentin Burns and Tyson Henkels were rolling along until midway into the second set in their No. 1 doubles match against Yellow Medicine East’s Austin Canatsey and Isaac Olevson Tuesday in Worthington.

But after winning the first set 6-4 and leading 5-2 in the second set, they let Canatsey and Olevson win three straight games. The possibility of a third set stared the Worthington duo in the face.

Fortunately, the Trojan twosome won two games to take a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

“Our main motivator was, if we lost that one, we’d have to go into a third set. And that would take another 40 minutes. So I was just going hard, ‘cuz I didn’t want to go to that third set,” said Henkels.

Worthington Trojans number 3 singles tennis player Ezra Bonnett returns a volley against Yellow Medicine East's Ryan Syring Tuesday afternoon. — Worthington Trojans No. 3 singles tennis player Ezra Bonnett returns a volley against Yellow Medicine East's Ryan Syring Tuesday afternoon.

Worthington defeated Yellow Medicine East in the team score, 5-2, by sweeping all three of the doubles matches and going 2-2 in singles.

For Burns and Henkels, seniors who’ve been tennis partners for nearly their entire school tennis careers, bouncing back from a brief reversal of fortune might not seem particularly difficult.

“We understand each other. We don’t need to talk much,” Henkels said.

Burns agreed. “I think we’ve got strong mental fortitude,” he declared. “‘Cuz we’ve dropped a set before, and we fought back.”

So were they worried at all when their YME counterparts gained momentum?

“A little bit, but not super worried,” said Burns.

“I was very worried. I’ll be honest,” admitted Henkels.

“I think we were just super focused,” Burns said. “I don’t think we made many mistakes those last two games.”

Worthington’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams had an easier time. Levi Kuhl and Jake Ahrenstorff defeated YME’s Karter Canatsey and Ryan Brouwer 6-0, 6-0 in the second spot. And in three, Matthew Becker and Steven Adams took care of Mason Rhodes and Liam Hadfield 6-1, 6-0.

At No. 1 singles, Yellow Medicine East’s Ean Clarke won 6-1, 6-0 over Worthington’s Alec Langerud. But at No. 2, the Trojans’ Ian Barber beat Jackson Torgerson 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-5 (super-tiebreaker). At third singles, YME's Ryan Syring won 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 super-tiebreaker over the Trojans' Ezra Bonnett. And at No. 4, Trojan David Sternke beat Derrick Lien 6-0, 6-4.

By Doug Wolter

Doug Wolter joined the Worthington Globe in December of 1983 as a sports reporter. He later became sports editor, and then news editor and managing editor. In 2006 he moved to Mankato with his wife, Sandy, and served as an editor at the Mankato Free Press. In 2013 he and Sandy returned to Worthington to take up the job of sports editor at The Globe, and they have been in Worthington since.

Doug can be reached at dwolter@dglobe.com.