Oct. 11—JAMESTOWN — Braxton Burkett was feeling good going into the team round of the 2024 West Region Tennis Tournament.
“I was seeing the ball and court really well,” said Burkett, a sophomore at Jamestown High School. “My first match was a singles match against the Legacy number 2. He’s a great player that I played during the regular season. Although I lost, me and him had a pretty solid match.”
The rest of Burkett’s singles team matches followed a similar pattern. The sophomore picked up a win against a Williston player but dropped to Century’s Karter Anderson 6-3, 1-6, 5-10
Once the team round was over, Burkett went to work qualifying for the state tournament individually.
Burkett and Luke LeFevre will be representing the Jamestown High School tennis team at the 2024 State Tennis Tournament this weekend. The pair will be competing in the doubles bracket.
LeFevre, the Jays No. 1 player, was also feeling confident going into WDA Tournament play.
“I managed to end the regular season 5-2 which was better than I thought it would be,” LeFevre, a junior at JHS, said. “I really liked how I was able to serve a lot better than past years and have really upped my game in doubles.”
While he might have “upped his game,” it hasn’t been with Burkett until recently.
“Braxton and I hadn’t played very much regular season doubles before this year, however, we have played quite a few summer tourneys together which really helped us this season,” LeFevre said. “We (are) getting used to playing doubles with one another. Eventually, you start picking up each other’s tendencies and are able to work off of them.
“When me and Brax play doubles together it’s very easy to communicate and move around the court efficiently allowing us to beat better teams,” he said. “Braxton is the type of player who can bring a lot of energy when you need it. He’s able to get something going from nothing which is a key part of tennis.”
Burkett added that what makes him and LeFevre a formidable duo is their shared history.
“We’ve basically grown up together so I tell him if he needs to pick it up and I expect him to do the same for me,” Burkett said. “We don’t have a reason to mask how we feel about each other, we can just say it.
“Luke’s a great player because of his intelligence,” he said. “He is by far one of the smartest players I’ve ever been on a court with. He’s been playing tennis for as long as I can remember and taught me almost everything I know.”
LeFevre said last Friday was the day that carried a lot of pressure because it determined whether or not the pair would be moving on and competing at the state tournament.
“We managed to pull through and play two very good matches where we could play how we wanted to,” LeFevre said.
LeFevre and Burkett locked up a state tournament berth on Friday which meant Saturday brought no pressure for the pair.
Still — the day did not go exactly as hoped.
“We were playing the No. 1 seed from Minot,” LeFevre said. “Both guys from Minot played very solid and Brax and I just weren’t clicking. In the third place match, we knew it was a match we could win which made it so much worse when we lost. We had been up in both sets and just couldn’t finish out.”
LeFevre said this week has been full of nonstop doubles drills and serve returns. The pair has upped their first-serve percentage to hopefully get some easier points. LeFevre and Burkett have also drilled on overheads and volleys since those are what killed them in their last two matches.
This weekend marks the second time LeFevre has qualified for the state tournament. The junior qualified as a freshman in 2022. Burkett has never qualified for the state tourney.
“I’m looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere,” Burkett said. “It’s also really nice to be there with my cousin on the same side of the court. I don’t feel a whole lot of pressure to perform but I think I have a good chance to raise some eyebrows. We are there to win. Not being seeded as high as we want isn’t ideal but we’re going to roll with the punches and throw a couple of our own.”
