Blue Jays eliminated at state tournament

Eric Watne, Reid Monson and Nathan Fix’s stay at the state tennis tournament was a brief one.

Watne in singles, and the doubles team of Monson and Fix, each went 0-2 and were eliminated on Friday in Bismarck.

Watne hung with top-seeded Matt Fuka of Grand Forks Central, but fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. In loser-out play, the JHS senior fell to Bismarck Century’s Loren Anderson for the fourth time this season.

“Eric had a great first round and probably played the best tennis he has all season,” coach Steve Listopad said. “The second round he played someone he was equal to, but didn’t play as well. It was a tough way to go out.”

Monson and Fix took both of their matches to three sets, but were unable to finish.

Down 1-0 to Peter Frei and Tom Schwandt of Fargo Shanley, the JHS pair leveled the match at 1-all by taking the second set, 6-4.

“They didn’t start out strong, but started to dominate in the second set,” Listopad said. “In the third, they reverted to how they played early in the match and lost 6-2.”

Monson and Fix — both seniors — sprinted to a 1-0 lead in loser-out play over Hunter Oothoudt and Matt Polsfut of Minot with a 6-2 first-set win. The following frame went to a tiebreak, with the Magicians’ pair prevailing 7-6 (4). The third belonged to Minot as well, capping the comeback, 6-4.

“They had moments of brilliant tennis, but too much mediocre tennis,” Listopad said. “Neither team they played was dominant, but they were more consistent.”

It was a frustrating end to the season for all.

“The message to future teams is that tennis is a short season,” Listopad said. “If you want to be a championship player or team, it’s not good enough to play for seven weeks out of the year. It’s just like any other sport. You have to build a foundation by hitting balls throughout the year so that when you get to this point, you’re ready to handle adversity. Hopefully in the future we can get to that point.”

Tags: jhs, boys, tennis, watne, monson, fix, statetournament, bluejays