We are part of The Trust Project.
BEMIDJI – The Bemidji High School boys tennis team hasn’t done much losing this season.
To start with, the Lumberjacks are now 15-0 after defeating Detroit Lakes 7-0 and East Grand Forks 6-1 in a triangular held at the BHS courts on Tuesday.
But that doesn’t mean that the Jacks can’t keep improving. Being perfect as a team doesn’t mean Bemidji has won every individual match or set.
As an example, Max Harris and Jacob Fuhrman were locked in a battle with their opponents from EGF at No. 1 doubles. After winning the first set 6-3, Harris and Fuhrman faced a fiercer fight in the second set, ultimately losing 7-6 after a 7-4 tiebreaker went the way of the Green Wave.
East Grand Forks won the tight third-set tiebreaker by a 10-8 score, proving that even after a dominant performance, BHS can always sharpen its skills.
ADVERTISEMENT
“During the matches, we find little things that we can adjust and change,” Harris said. “Those things, we look at (them) in practice and really just work on them the days that we do practice.”
Their head coach, Kyle Fodness, thinks tennis naturally lends itself to self-improvement – it’s simply up to the players to embrace it.
“Tennis is kind of like golf, where even though you're playing an opponent, you just want to be better at executing certain shots, or your serve or your volleys,” Fodness said. “You always want your game to be cleaner. It's such a skill sport that you always want your skills to be sharper, just because that's the fun of it.”
Bemidji also knows that with the playoffs approaching, it needs to round its repertoire into form to compete with the best teams in the state.
“The nice thing is (it’s) a veteran group that's kind of been there before in playoffs and in other sports,” Fodness said. “They have no illusions about the fact that there are teams out there in the state that are better than us right now. There are some good teams out there, teams that are ahead of us ability-wise. I don't have to tell them that, they know that.”
On Tuesday, the Lumberjacks finished off both of their opponents with swift efficiency. Matthieu Benhamou and Noah Johnson earned two wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, while Reed Johnson, Seth Lindgren, John McNallan and Casey Rupp each recorded one singles win.
In doubles, the pairing of Aidan Larson and Jack McNallan finished with two wins, while duos Reed Johnson and Lindgren, John McNallan and Rupp, and Harris and Fuhrman finished with one apiece.
Alongside their quest for development, the Jacks are focusing on enjoying what’s left of their season. With the Section 8AA Team Tournament just over a week away, their time is running short.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Everybody's so positive and has fun playing,” Harris said. “They’ll yell over when we’re on the courts, ‘Keep going!’ Everybody does it around the court. So it's just fun to listen to.”
Because tennis, after all, is supposed to be fun – especially when you’re undefeated.
“The way we've liked to treat it is, ‘Let's play every match like it's a playoff match,’” Fodness said. “And that's the fun way to do it anyway, because everybody loves to be in the playoffs.”
Bemidji returns to the courts for a triangular against Hibbing and Duluth East starting at noon on Wednesday, May 11, in Hibbing.
Bemidji 7, Detroit Lakes 0
Singles
No. 1: Benhamou (BHS) def. Cihak, 6-0, 6-2
No. 2: N. Johnson (BHS) def. Henderson, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 3: R. Johnson (BHS) def. Deraney, 6-0, 6-4
No. 4: Lindgren (BHS) def. Moore, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1: Jo. McNallan/Rupp (BHS) def. Zamzo/Fields, 7-5, 6-0
No. 2: Harris/Fuhrman (BHS) def. Smith/Reller, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3: Larson/Ja. McNallan (BHS) def. Blow/Winter, 6-0, 6-1
