The Pioneers hosted a Junior Varsity tournament on Wednesday, September 22, with Ralston, Beatrice, and Waverly. The tournament was played in beautiful weather with a crisp morning and warm afternoon. The Pioneers came away with two first place finishes and tremendous amount of invaluable experience. This was the first tournament for the young Pioneers where they were able to play multiple matches against high quality players. First year player, Lucas Nielson (11), went 2-1 on the day and won first place. He was able to defeat Beatrice (6-3) and Ralston (6-2) and narrowly lost (4-6) to Chase McInteer from Waverly. The deciding tiebreak factor was percentage of games won and Lucas came away with the medal. At #2 Singles Alex Pieters (10) was a last minute substitution when another player fell ill. Alex went 1-2 on the day beating Beatrice’s Seth Oltmans (6-4) but his most import achievement might have been getting to the courts within 10 minutes of getting the call that he was needed. Coach McNeely commented “All we had to do was find Alex and he would be chomping at the bit to play. He has really improved this year.” The #1 Doubles duo of Zach Ackerman (11) and Maverick Weniger (9) didn’t find a win on the day but played a fantastic match against the 1st place Beatrice team. Pushing the match to tiebreak before succumbing 5-7. Beatrice coach Karen Dittbrenner commented, “That’s definitely the 2nd best team here”. Coach Holmberg also commented how they really had it going and were moving well during that match. Sometimes it take awhile in doubles to find that chemistry and it can come and go quickly. The #2 Doubles team of freshman duo Trevor Tesarec and Cutler Adams had a great day going 3-0 with scores of 6-4 vs Wavery, 6-2 vs Beatrice, and 6-1 vs Ralston. Coach McNeely commented “These two were a good combination with Tesarec’s athleticism and Adams’ consistency at the net. Also they just seem to play well together.
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AuthorThese articles are written by coaches, players and parents of the tennis team. Archives
September 2022
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