GRAND FORKS, N.D. (NewsDakot.com) – Day one of the 2020 State Individual Tennis Tournament is in the the books and the Valley City Hi-Liners had a good showing in Grand Forks.
Blake Triebold went 2-0 and is on the semifinals Saturday morning where he will play Corby Svihovec of Bismarck Legacy.
In doubles, Kai Kringlie and Derek Bear went 1-2 on the day. There season comes to an end. They lost in the opening round but came back and won in the consolation before dropping a 8-3 decision in the consolation quarterfinals.
Below are the results and Coach Matt Nielson’s comments.
#2E Blake Triebold
Round 1: Defeated #7W Hunter Rice (Minot) 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals: Defeated #6E Ethan Raan (Sheyenne) 7-5, 6-3
#6E Kai Kringlie/Derek Bear
Round 1: Lost to #3W K.Pritchett/B.Helbling (Mandan) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3
Consolation Round 1: Defeated #7W J.Hegstad/C.Opp (Minot) 8-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: Lost to #5E C.Spicer/C.Wilber (Grand Forks Central) 8-3
Coach’s Thoughts:
Kai and Derek came out the gates ready to play. They were hitting solid ground strokes, crushing balls when they got a short, weak shot. At the net, they were moving and putting the balls away agains the #3 team from the West. We won the first set 6-2 and were up 3-0 when Mandan stepped up their game. Once Mandan stepped it up, we got back on our heals and became a little frustrated. Mandan made a good comeback and won that second set in a tiebreaker. They maintained their momentum in the third set and sent us to the consolation side of the bracket.
In our next match against Minot, Kai and Derek rolled. They took control of points and then finished them off. Nice work getting a win at the state tournament fellas. It is an accomplishment to even make it to state; it is a bigger accomplishment to get a win once you are there. Congrats!
In their final match, we lined up with the same Central team that beat us in the consolation championship at EDC. The Knights were able to adapt to the wind better than us, staying more consistent. The Hi-Liners were able to paint some lines – but it was for not. Again – it is crazy awesome that Valley City’s #3 and #4 players state qualified and also won a match at state!
Blake had a couple good days of practice leading up to the tourney, including beating me up pretty good. In his opening round, he was definitely the favorite and he played that way. Blake dictated play and moved onto the quarterfinals without dropping a game.
Ethan Raan beat the #3 from the west to then play Blake. We were prepped for that as the East is stronger than the West. Ethan came out strong and played very solid for almost the whole match, just like he played against Seth last weekend. Blake played tentative coming out of the gates and Ethan played high topspin keeping Blake out of a rhythm. Blake fought to up 6-5 in the first set, but down 40-30. Ethan got to the net and Blake set up a backhand down the line passing shot which he clipped the tape and bounced over his opponent’s racquet for a winner. On deuce, Ethan was aggressive and got to the net again. Blake lobbed it and Ethan had an overhead which Blake got back even deeper. Ethan dumped the next overhead into the net giving Blake the set.
In the second set, Blake still struggled with Ethan’s game and kept it close. At 3-3, Ethan ripped a forehand which Blake weakly returned. Blake then guessed the directly correctly on Ethan’s next shot and Blake ripped a winner which was the momentum shift we needed. Blake cruised in the next two games to win and earn a spot in the semifinals.
Blake will play the WDA Champion in Corby Svihovec from Bismarck Legacy in the semifinals at 10am on Saturday. The winner of that match will play for a state championship while the loser will play for 3rd. Here we go!