Oct. 5 — MINOT, N.D. — Nothing happened for the members of the Jamestown High School boys tennis team this weekend — but they won it all.
In the team portion of the WDA tournament, the fifth-seeded Jays went 1-2. The team lost 5-0 to Legacy, beat Williston 3-2 in the consolation semifinals, then lost 5-0 to Century in the state qualifying game.
On Friday and Saturday, the Jays competed in the individual round of the tournament. In singles matches, participants all lost in the first round.
“They had a tough run because every team they played qualified for State,” JHS head tennis coach Tim Ranum said. “A lot of things went well and their matches were very competitive today. However, we just didn’t serve or return serves consistently enough, which didn’t allow us to maintain our momentum. “
In doubles, the Jays qualified a pair at State.
Luke LeFevre and Braxton Burkett defeated Mandan’s Lucas DeRosier and Donaven Birdine 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. The duo beat Century’s Jaden Kleinjan and Ryan Mullally 6-3, 6-4 to clinch a spot in the tournament’s semifinals.
LeFevre and Burkett couldn’t keep up with Minot’s Aidan Diehl and Grayson Schaeffer. The semifinal loss sent the duo to the consolation semifinals to play for third place. Century’s Charlie Holzer and Carter Anderson won the third-place title, defeating Burkett and LeFevre 6-4,7-6(4).
“It was a good weekend because Luke and Braxton were a little bit forged by fire, which will help them next week,” Ranum said.
The state tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday in Grand Forks. LeFèvre and Burkett will not compete until Friday.
