The Alexandria boys tennis team did what it’s done all year on Wednesday, and that’s take care of business against an opponent it should beat.
The Cardinals, who are the top seed in the North half of the Section 8-2A tournament, won all four singles matches en route to a 6-1 victory over fourth-seeded Detroit Lakes.
“We felt like we were a little rusty,” Alexandria head coach Dave Ronning said. “It’s been about a week since we’ve played. DL is solid. They have solid players across the board. It’s a good win.”
Senior Gannon Lueck won a competitive No. 2 singles match, one in which he trailed by three games in the second set. His resiliency has shined all year in the eyes of his coaches and teammates.
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“As long as you don’t quit and keep fighting, good things happen,” Ronning said. “He figured some things out. He had a good strategy with his short balls.”
Senior Jacob Partington has taken on the challenge of playing in the No. 1 singles spot throughout the year, and in one of his last matches on his home court, he got the job done 6-1, 6-3.
“They played us a little tougher than we were expecting,” Partington said. “It was good for us to shake the rust off before we get Tech next week. I know a lot of us are really excited to play them again after the last time we played them.”
Ronning is no stranger to shaking up the lineup. Lueck can play both singles and doubles, and he showed his versatility with a singles win over the Lakers.
“We looked at what (Detroit Lakes) has and what their strengths are,” Ronning said. “We knew their singles lineup was solid all of the way through. Whenever we play a solid singles lineup, we try to put our better players there. That means our doubles are usually a little weaker. We figured we’d be just fine without those big guns in doubles.”
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Aaron Jost was also dominant in a straight-set win at No. 4 singles.
“He’s strong and confident,“ Ronning said. “He goes out there, says what he’s going to do and does it.”
Several members of the 2019 section championship team came back to watch Alexandria take down Detroit Lakes on Wednesday afternoon. It’s a group that helped set a new tone for the culture of this program.
“Expectations are way higher than what they used to be,” Partington said. “It used to be a big deal to make it to sections. Now it’s a letdown. We’re not cocky or anything, but we go into every match thinking we are going to win. We don’t expect anything less than going to the state tournament this year. There are great teams in our section, and we aren’t looking past anybody at all.”
Alexandria’s quarterfinal win sets up the third meeting against the South's second-seeded St. Cloud Tech, which handled Monticello in its quarterfinal matchup. After beating the Tigers 4-3 at home on Apr. 20, Tech handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season on May 11 by a score of 6-1.
“It was embarrassing for us the last time we played them,” Partington said. “Everybody knows that. We didn’t play well, and they were really good. Kudos to them for giving us what we deserved that day. I think when we’re both playing our best games, it could be the best match of the tournament.”
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Ronning believes his team’s mental game needs to be better to get a second win over Tech.
“Our guys just have to buy into having confidence,” Ronning said. “When we beat them here, we were confident. When they beat us down there, we weren’t. Our confidence was lacking. We’ll be fine as long as we stay confident.”
The winner of Wednesday’s match at noon in either Sartell or St. Cloud will likely get the winner of Bemidji and Becker, the other high seeds. Having been there and done that before, Partington is hoping to recreate some magic and bring home a second consecutive section title.
“Breath by breath, point by point and shot by shot,” Partington said. “Having these guys around you out there is really encouraging. We’re all working towards the same goal. We can’t get ahead of ourselves. If we focus on what’s in front of us and play our game, we have a really good shot.”
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