Blue Jays finish fifth at Minot Round Robin

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The Jamestown High School boys tennis team has a goal of being in the top four in the West Region, and the Blue Jays didn’t quite get there at Saturday’s Minot Round Robin.

However, they did finish fifth with seven points, led by a 3-3 record from No. 2 singles player Declan O’Higgins. Still, coach Pat Mullowney said too many points were left on the court.

“I thought we left some sets out there,” he said. “I think we didn’t close out sets. That’s pretty much the story of the weekend. There were matches that we had some opportunities; we just didn’t finish.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for growth, a lot of things for us to work on as we move forward.”

O’Higgins notched wins against David Keys of Bismarck (6-3), Tyus Praus of Dickinson (6-0 and Tyler Hermanson of Williston (6-2). Behind him, record-wise, was Nick Watne at No. 1 singles. He finished 2-4, topping Kevin Schwab of Dickinson 6-2 and Austin Semenko of Williston 6-3.

“They did an all-right job,” Mullowney said.

The rest of Jamestown’s performers managed just three wins between them. Mandan won the tournament with a score of 24, while Minot High and Bismarck Century tied for second with 23.

The Blue Jays are back in action when they host Bismarck on Tuesday in a nonconference dual that will be played in a 4-3 format. They visit Bismarck Century for a West Region dual on Thursday before hosting Fargo South in nonconference play on Friday.

Minot Round Robin

Team scores

1, Mandan 24. 2T, Minot High and Bismarck Century 23. 4, Bismarck High 18. 5, Jamestown 7. 6, Williston 6. 7, Dickinson 0.

Jamestown results

Singles

No. 1, Nick Watne 2-4 (beat Kevin Schwab of Dickinson 6-2 and Austin Semenko of Williston 6-3; lost to Andrew Krecklau of Bismarck High 6-4, Joe Janes of Century 6-3, Ben Wanner of Mandan 6-1, Hunter Oothoudt of Minot 6-1).

No. 2, Declan O’Higgins 3-3 (beat David Keys of Bismarck High 6-3, Tyus Praus of Dickinson 6-0, Tyler Hermanson of Williston 6-2; lost to Sam Mastel of Century 6-0, Brandon Schaner of Mandan 6-1, Isaac Massey of Minot 7-5.

No. 3, Michael Simonetti 1-5 (beat Alex Wanek of Mandan 6-1; lost to TJ Irey of Bismarck 7-5, Casey Beck of Century 6-1, Taylor Chavez of Minot 6-3, Kyle Gerding of Minott 6-4, Robert Krom of Williston 7-5.

Doubles

No. 1, Nick Fuchs-Jonny Satrom 1-5 (beat Hunter Jerome-Alex Prieve of Dickinson 6-4; lost to Jared Spooner-Willie Ulness of Bismarck 6-0, Grant Ehli-Evan Warren of Century 6-1, Kyler Vogel-Eric Porter of Mandan 6-1, Landon Klein-Dustin Foster of Minot 6-4, Adam Kemp-Tracer Overland of Williston 6-2).

No. 2, Ashton Johnson-Nate Soulis 1-5 (beat Travis Kohn-Chase Olson of Williston 6-2; lost to Jayden Wirrenga-Austin Meuchel of Bismarck High 6-3, Nick Janes-Bryan Swanberg of Century 6-3, Drew Thomas-Grayson Bahl of Minot High 6-1, Nathan Berger-Austin Tweet of Mandan 7-5, Lane Vendsel-Jordin Gardner of Minot 6-2.

Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jays, tennis