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The North Branch boys tennis team started its season with four matches last week, coming away with one win.
The Vikings opened the year against Mora April 15 and earned the 6-1 win.
Winning at singles were seniors Britt Baumann and Justin Mahlke and junior David Stark. Sophomore Blake Anderson lost his match at No. 4 singles, 3-6, 6-7, 6-8.
ìBritt won quickly and easily 6-0, 6-0,î Head Coach Tom McLaughlin said. ìJustin also won easily 6-2, 6-4. David somehow managed to win nearly all the crucial points in his match and won 6-4, 7-6, 7-3 in a second set tie breaker.î
He said Anderson played well despite the loss in the tie breaker.
ìI was surprised at how well our doubles played in this match,î McLaughlin said. ìNone of our doubles players were on varsity last year, but they are learning fast and playing much better than I thought they would at this point. They all got their first varsity wins in this match.î
At No. 1 doubles, senior Cody Ekstrom and junior Joey Sung earned the 6-2, 6-3 win. ìThey won with a lot of easy overheads,î McLaughlin said.
At No. 2, senior Jason Endriss and sophomore Ben Forrest won in two sets, 6-3, 6-0. ìThey won the first set 6-3 and then made some adjustments and won easily 6-0,î McLaughlin said.
At No. 3 senior Jeromie Hamann and seventh grader Zak Stuen won 6-0, 7-6, 7-5.
On Saturday, April 17 the team hosted Mahtomedi in the morning and Amery in the afternoon and came away with two losses.
Mahtomedi made it a clean 7-0 sweep of the Vikes.
ìMahtomediís team isnít as strong as they have been in the past but they were still too strong for us,î McLaughlin said.
Baumann at No. 1 singles and Endriss at No. 4 singles won more games than anyone on the squad, but were still unable to earn the win. Baumann lost 2-6, 2-6 and Endriss lost 1-6, 3-6.
In the afternoon, North Branch lost a close 4-3 match to Amery.
Earning wins for the Vikes were Baumann, 6-3, 6-2, Stark, 6-4, 6-2 and Anderson, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
ìBritt and David controlled their matches from the beginning,î McLaughlin said. ìBlake played two close sets and then controlled the third set.î
All three doubles teams lost for the Vikings. ìI thought our doubles teams did a good job of controlling the net but missed too many volleys and set up their opponents by hitting weaker ground strokes,î McLaughlin said. ìOnce their ground strokes improve theyíll get some easier volleys to hit.î
The squad went on to fall to Forest Lake 6-1 Monday.
The lone win for the Vikes came at No. 3 singles as Stark won 7-6, 6-4. ìHe never gives up on the ball and probably plays harder than anyone else right now,î McLaughlin said.
ìBritt didnít play well in the first set,î McLaughlin said. ìHe missed shots he would normally make and gave away points with unforced errors.î Baumann lost 1-6, 3-6.
ìJustin returned after being gone for our weekend matches,î McLaughlin said. ìHe came out flat in the first set, losing 1-6. He was tired but made the match close in the second set before losing 5-7.î
McLaughlin said Ekstrom and Sung, despite the loss, continue to impress with how well they play. ìThey are aggressive and work hard to control the net,î he said.
At No. 3 doubles, Hamann and sophomore Shane Gelden lost 3-6, 1-6 but continue to improve, McLaughlin said.
This week, the team was scheduled to host Andover Tuesday and Chisago Lakes Thursday, April 22 before a home invitational Saturday, April 24.
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