Minnewaska junior Tate Reichmann had to wait two years to do it, but he will play in a second straight state tournament after winning the Section 8A singles championship on May 26.

Reichmann and his Minnewaska teammates beat Crookston 4-3 in the team semifinals, and Perham 6-1 in the quarterfinals. That sent them up against top-seeded Thief River Falls in the section championship where the Prowlers won 6-1 to secure their spot at the state tournament.

Camden Broadwell beat Reichmann in a three-setter at No. 1 singles in that team championship match, but Reichmann got his revenge in the individual tournament. Both advance to the state tournament as the top two finishers in the section.

“I want to see Tate play confidently and feel like he deserves to be in the mix with the best players in the state of Minnesota,” Tate’s mom and coach, Tara Reichmann, said. “He works hard. Last time he won the section he was only a 9th-grader. My guess is he probably was a little intimated. Maybe wasn't as confident in his abilities and I guarantee he was the smallest participant that year. He did not win a match at state that year.”

Reichmann, the top seed in singles during the 8A Tournament, and second-seeded Broadwell faced each other in the individual championship on May 26. Both won tight three-setters in the semifinals, but Reichmann kept his foot on the gas in the championship to win 6-4, 6-1.

Reichmann breezed through his first two matches without dropping a game. That changed in the semifinals as he ran into fourth-seeded Josh Peterson of Perham. Peterson won the first set 6-2, but that ignited Reichmann, who followed with 6-1, 6-0 wins to put the match away.

Peterson controlled the start of that semifinals match before Reichmann won a couple of games near the end of the first set. That instilled some confidence in Reichmann even after the loss.

“Josh Peterson was hot. Tough to play, had minimal errors in the first set and Tate was a bit in a fog, I think,” Tara Reichmann said. “Tate has played Josh in the past and he felt if he could just try to hustle and be consistent, Josh would start making errors. His mental game became rock solid. He told me not to worry after the first set. He said, ‘I'm going to play better and come back, mom.’ That is exactly what he did. He calmed down and finally played his game. (Peterson) started to make more errors and Tate capitalized on it.”

The Class A state tennis tournaments will take place at St. Cloud Tech High School this year. The first round of the singles tournament begins at 8 a.m. on June 10 before the quarterfinals later that day. The tournament finishes up on June 11.

“My goal for him is first to play confidently, have fun and hopefully win at least one match,” Tara Reichmann said. “I know the competition gets pretty tough come tournaments, but I hope Tate can enjoy the experience. A lot depends on draws too at state.”

Maddock motivated by just missing state

Osakis sophomore Isaac Maddock also completed his first competitive season in the Minnesota State High School League by taking third in the section field.

Maddock, who was a catalyst all season for an Osakis team that jumpstarted its program for the first time since the early 1990s, beat Peterson by a 6-0, 6-0 score in the third-place match.

“He played his best match of the year in beating Josh,” Osakis head coach Ryan Maddock said.

Maddock was seeded third in the singles tournament and won 6-0, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-1 in his first two matches before running into second-seeded Broadwell. Maddock pushed Broadwell all match but ultimately fell in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 final.

“The season was a great experience for Isaac and our whole team,” Ryan Maddock said. “He played a very strong tournament. He beat Camden Broadwell in a very close match in the team tourney and then lost a very close match to him in the individual tourney. They are both really good players and would probably keep beating each other if they played a series. So while it is disappointing to lose and have your season end, it is also helpful to know that you are right there with those players and it just didn't work out this year.”

Maddock finished his season at 15-2 with his only losses coming against Reichmann during the regular season and then Broadwell in the semifinals. He should be a consistent threat to everyone else in this section for the next couple seasons.

“Isaac's third place match versus Josh Peterson was the best he played in a match all year,” Ryan Maddock said. “Josh is right there with the top players in the section as well. So to end your high school season playing the best you could is all you can ask for. Coming up just short of the state tournament will definitely be a motivating factor into his offseason training.”

Quelle, VanDyke, Uhde get opening wins

Minnewaska’s Ethan Quelle also played in the Section 8A singles tournament and got a first-round win.

He beat Erik Coauette of Crookston 7-5, 6-1 before falling in round two. Osakis’ Logan Grove dropped his first-round singles match to Jack Birkeland of Perham, 6-4, 6-4.

The Lakers’ Damon Uhde and Nik VanDyke won 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the doubles tournament before falling in a three-setter in round two. Logan and Aiden Maanum dropped their opening-round match.

The Osakis duos of Marcus Wolf and Connor Gulbranson and Jacob Uhl and Bryce Moen both lost their tournament openers in doubles.

SECTION 8A TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Thief River Falls 6, Minnewaska 1

SINGLES - No. 1 - Camden Broadwell (TRF) def. Tate Reichmann, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8; No. 2 - Jack Onkka (TRF) def. Tenzin Dahl, 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 - Reece Janisch (TRF) def. Connor Quelle, 6-3, 6-0; No. 4 - Isaiah Villarreal (TRF) def. Noah Palmer, 7-6 (0), 6-2

DOUBLES - No. 1 - Ethan Lunsetter/Dylan Hahn (TRF) def. Damon Uhde/Gannon Walsh, 6-4, 6-2; No. 2 - Rhett Janisch/Jett Cornelius (TRF) def. Logan Maanum/Nik VanDyke, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; No. 3 - Aiden Maanum/Ethan Quelle (M) def. JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

SECTION 8A TEAM SEMIFINALS

Minnewaska 4, Crookston 3

SINGLES - No. 1 - Reichmann (M) def. Erik Coauette, 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 - Walsh (M) def. Isaac Thomforde, 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 - Ethan Quelle (M) def. Joseph Brule, 6-2, 6-0; No. 4 - Reggie Winjum (C) def. Dahl, 7-5, 6-2

DOUBLES - No. 1 - Jack Garmen/Mason Owens (C) def. Uhde/VanDyke, 6-4, 6-4; No. 2 - Evan Christensen/Nathan Kelly (C) def. L. Maanum/A. Maanum, 6-3, 6-0; No. 3 - Connor Quelle/Palmer (M) def. Xander Kuchan/George French, 7-6 (5), 6-2