Oct. 5—MINOT, N.D. — Nothing came east for the members of the Jamestown High School boys tennis team this weekend — but they earned everything they got.
In the team portion of the WDA tournament, the fifth-seeded Jays went 1-2. The squad lost 5-0 to Legacy, defeated Williston 3-2 in the consolation semis then fell 5-0 to Century in the state qualifying match.
Friday and Satruday the Jays participated in the individual round of the tournament. In the singles matches, those participating all lost in the first round.
“They had a tough path as all the teams they played qualified for State,” JHS head tennis coach Tim Ranum said. “A lot of things went well, and their matches were highly competitive today. However, we just didn’t serve or serve return consistently enough which didn’t allow us to sustain any momentum.”
In doubles, the Jays qualified one duo to State.
Luke LeFevre and Braxton Burkett downed Mandan’s Lucas DeRosier and Donaven Birdine 6-1, 6-0 to move to the tournament quarterfinals. The pair defeated Century’s Jaden Kleinjan and Ryan Mullally 6-3, 6-4 to clinch a spot in the tournament semifinals.
LeFevre and Burkett couldn’t quite keep up with Minot’s Aidan Diehl and Grayson Schaeffer. The loss in the semis sent the duo to the consolation semifinals to play for third. Charlie Holzer and Carter Anderson of Century earned the third-place title defeating Burkett and LeFevre 6-4,7-6(4).
“It was a good weekend as Luke and Braxton have been forged by fire a bit which will help them next week,” Ranum said.
The state tourney is set to kick off on Thursday in Grand Forks. LeFevre and Burkett will not compete until Friday.
