With snowflakes falling from an overcast sky, and temperatures hovering around 37 degrees, the Brainerd Warriors made quick work of the Fergus Falls Otters Tuesday.
So quick, in fact, no match went to a third set and the Warriors cruised to a 6-1 season-opening victory over their Central Lakes Conference opponent at Brainerd High School.
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Warriors 6, Fergus Falls 1
- Key: Warriors grab six straight-set wins
- Conf: Brd 1-0, FF 0-1
- Overall: Brd 1-0, FF 0-1
- Next: Brainerd at Willmar 4:30 p.m. Thursday
--- No. 1 singles player Tanner Lundberg scored an efficient 6-0 first-set victory and then swept Jordan Schneeberger with a 6-4 second-set win.
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"I was hitting my shots and I felt like I couldn't miss," said Lundberg. "In the second set, he started bringing me to the net and lobbing me and I just couldn't finish the overheads."
Lundberg, entering his second season at No. 1 singles, said he needed to remain patient and finish the points to open the season with a victory.
Also scoring singles victories were Eric Stout and Jacob Hodge. Stout topped Zach Tarczon 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles and Hodge didn't drop a game to win his No. 4 singles match.
The cold weather has cut into Brainerd's outside practice time so Lundberg took the opportunity to work on his serve Tuesday.
"I just wanted to get my serve ready for midseason and sometimes in the past my forehand has been lacking at the start of seasons so I was trying to get that going, too," Lundberg said. "My confidence is good. I'm hoping I can actually go to state this year and do something."
For the No. 2 doubles team of Happy Rivard and Garrett Goeden, working on consistency was their focus. That and finishing points.
"We wanted to get our serves in and not make mistakes," Goeden said. "We wanted to stay consistent and attack the net. We attacked the net a lot. We were able to put points away there because we both excel at the net."
The No. 2 duo opened with a 6-4 win and then finished off Nick Johnson-Tyler Hobbs 6-1 for the win
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"Weather-wise we were battling cold hands in that first set," said Rivard. "Once we got into it, though, it was pretty good. The wind died down a little bit, but then toward the end of the second set it started raining a little bit and snowing."
The team of Travis Goeden-Cole Kalenberg won their No. 1 doubles match 6-4, 6-3, and Cole Ball-Brady Mick scored a 6-1, 6-1, No. 3 doubles win.
"It was great to play and get outside, but dang was it cold," said Warrior head coach Bruce Thompson. "I admire the players for getting out there and playing. It was colder than we expected. To get a match in, is good, but it was cold. Those were not ideal tennis conditions but both teams stuck it out and played well."
Junior varsity doubles winners for the Warriors were Nate Rud-Tanner Clink, Dylan McLain-Theo Knudson, Gavin Andres-Simon Riguelme, Wyatt Andres-Noah Blum and Riley Andres-Jacob Mitchell.
Warriors 6, Fergus Falls 1
Singles
No. 1: Tanner Lundberg (Brd) def. Jordan Schneeberger 6-0, 6-4
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No. 2: Cody Drake (FF) def. Patrick Meyer 6-4, 6-3
No. 3: Eric Stout (Brd) def. Zach Tarczon 6-4, 6-4
No. 4: Jacob Hodge (Brd) def. Caleb Danielson 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1: Travis Goeden-Cole Kalenberg (Brd) def. John Hermes-Chris Bernard 6-4, 6-3
No. 2: Happy Rivard-Garrett Goeden (Brd) def. Nick Johnson-Tyler Hobbs 6-4, 6-1
No. 3: Cole Ball-Brady Mick (Brd) def. Jacob Makielski-Isaac Nadgwick 6-1, 6-1
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JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop .
