CROOKSTON – The Bemidji High School boys tennis team played in a different kind of meet on Thursday.
The Lumberjacks competed against singles and doubles teams from three opposing schools — Crookston, Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks — in the Northwest quadrangular. Team wins and losses were not awarded, giving the Lumberjacks a free roll to shake up the lineup at the season’s midway point.
“... We used this as a chance to experiment with a few different combinations and give guys a chance to play in some different positions in the lineup,” BHS head coach Kyle Fodness said. “Jacob Fuhrman was a good example of a player who had a chance to really improve by playing in the No. 1 singles position against some really strong competition. He played very well in all three of his matches, and that was a great experience for him and Aidan Larson to get some singles experience at the top of the lineup.”
Fuhrman, Larson and Leo Mathews went 1-2 in each of their three matches on Thursday in Crookston. Fuhrman beat Carson Knutson of East Grand Forks 7-6 (3), 6-3. Larson took down Crookston’s Isaac Thomforde 7-5, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, while Mathews beat Crookston’s Sam Widseth in three sets (1-2, 7-5, 6-3) at No. 3 singles.
Owen Lappinga rounded out the singles competitors. He went 2-1, beating the representatives from Crookston and East Grand Forks.
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Casey Rupp traditionally holds down the No. 1 singles position. However, on Thursday, he slotted into the top doubles spot with Jack McNallan. They went 2-1, picking up wins of 6-1, 6-1, and 6-0, 6-1 over Crookston and East Grand Forks, respectively. JD Hasbargen and Brooks Johnson went 3-0 at No. 2 doubles. Jack Bahr and Matt Brown also rolled to a sweep at No. 3 doubles.
The Jacks will head to Sartell for a 12:45 p.m. triangular on Friday, May 5, at Sartell High School.
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