BEMIDJI -- The Bemidji High School boys tennis team couldn’t have had a better start to its season.
The Lumberjacks hosted Grand Rapids and Crookston at Bemidji State’s Gillett Wellness Center on Thursday, and BHS walked out as 7-0 winners in both to secure a season-opening sweep.
“It's always exciting to get our first matches underway,” Bemidji head coach Mark Fodness said. “… I thought all three of our doubles teams did a lot of good things all day long. We still need to fine-tune some things but we are playing more aggressively than we have in the past.”
In the opener against the Thunderhawks, the Jacks came out victorious in straight sets on the singles side.
At top singles, Spencer Konecne was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Dominic Nalan, and Louis Saxton followed suit with a matching victory at No. 2 singles. Jonah Fuhrman and Max Harris also had identical wins, each earning 6-4, 6-1 decisions at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
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“Jonah really had to battle to win the first set, but then really improved the depth and consistency of his shots and made easy work of the match,” Fodness said. “Max Harris also played well in his varsity debut, and, by the end of the day, he had his first two wins. Max made some nice adjustments as he played, and it's always great to see a young player who is coachable.”
Bemidji’s doubles teams followed the same theme of success. Silas Hess and Michael Dickinson served up a 6-2, 6-3 win at the top spot, Ben Hess and Logan Jensen were 6-4, 6-2 winners at second doubles. The Kolden Michalicek-Wyatt Harrom duo won 6-1, 6-0 at third doubles, as well.
The team-wide success carried over into a clean sweep of the Pirates.
Konecne topped Nick Garmen 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1, while Saxton rolled 6-1, 6-4 over Blake Fee at No. 2. Fuhrman and Harris rounded out the sweep with a respective 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3 and a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4.
And on the doubles side, too, the day belonged to BHS. Silas Hess and Dickinson rallied for a 6-7, 6-2, 10-6 comeback win at the top spot, while Michalicek and Harrom breezed 6-1, 6-0 in a move up to No. 2 doubles.
Ben Hess and Jensen survived in a 4-6, 6-2, 13-11 marathon at the third doubles spot, which solidified a perfect lineup.
“Even (though) we played well overall in doubles today, I thought Wyatt and Kolden gave us the most consistent performance,” Fodness said. “They moved up to second doubles against Crookston and turned in a really dominant performance. Both Wyatt and Kolden served and volleyed effectively and we were aggressive at the net.”
For Saxton, meanwhile, his first varsity start ended with two wins under his belt.
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“That's an impressive performance considering he's at second singles,” Fodness said of Saxton. “Not many players can make that jump, but Louis really played his game and all of his hard work in the offseason paid off for him today.”
The Lumberjacks will hold onto their 2-0 start as the spring schedule shifts around. Road matches against Grand Rapids and Crookston, set for Monday and Tuesday, April 8-9, have been postponed due to snow on the courts.
Official makeup dates have not yet been announced.
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Bemidji 7, Grand Rapids 0
Singles
No. 1: Konecne (BHS) def. Nalan 6-0, 6-1
No. 2: Saxton (BHS) def. Simonson 6-0, 6-1
No. 3: Fuhrman (BHS) def. Henrichsen 6-4, 6-1
No. 4: Harris (BHS) def. Dulong 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1: S. Hess/Dickinson (BHS) def.Young/Bishoff 6-2, 6-3
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No. 2: B. Hess/Jensen (BHS) def. Chandler/Frimanslund 6-4, 6-3
No. 3: Michalicek/Harrom (BHS) def. Ries/Owens 6-1, 6-0
Bemidji 7, Crookston 0
Singles
No. 1: Konecne (BHS) def. N. Garmen 6-3, 6-1
No. 2: Saxton (BHS) def. Fee 6-1, 6-4
No. 3: Fuhrman (BHS) def. J. Garmen 6-4, 6-1
No. 4: Harris (BHS) def. Schultz 6-2, 6-1
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Doubles
No. 1: S. Hess/Dickinson (BHS) def. Wardner/T. Janorschke 6-7, 6-2, 10-6
No. 2: Michalicek/Harrom (BHS) def. D. Owens/R. Janorschke 6-1, 6-0
No. 3: B. Hess/Jensen (BHS) def. M. Owens/Johnson 4-6, 6-2, 13-11
