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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
State Tennis Tournament
St. Paul, MN
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By: Bryan Horwath
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Photo(s) By: Barb Pjevach
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From a school reclaiming its territory atop of large school tennis (Edina) to a doubles player keeping his family tradition intact (Phillip Jackley of Blake) this year’s state tournament had a little bit of everything. The boys played June 3-6 at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center and the Reed-Sweat Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
Hornets sting the competition in Class AA, Sicora proves to be the real McCoy
In Class AA team action, Edina won its second state title in three years after swarming past some tough competition.
In the opening round, the Hornets disposed of Rochester Mayo, last year’s champion, and topped Elk River in the semifinals before outlasting No. 1 Mounds View 5-2 in the championship match.
While the Hornets and Mustangs split the singles matches, winning two each, Edina flexed its muscle in doubles as it swept all three matches.
Brent Radewald and Casey McMann of Edina topped Joe Hodgson and Kevin Arthur of Mounds View 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in a key first doubles match. The championship was Edina’s ninth in the past 30 years and fourth in the past seven years.
In the Class AA doubles tournament, Henry Sibley’s Michael Lunka and Matt Schull had an impressive run to the championship match, where the duo fell to Rochester Mayo’s senior team of Amrik Donkena and William Tremaine 6-3, 6-2.
After winning the Class AA singles championship in 2007 as an eighth-grader, Mounds View’s Wyatt McCoy was primed for another good showing this season. Michael Sicora of Buffalo, however, had other ideas. Sicora won the title in 2006 and was bounced by McCoy in the semifinals in 2007, but got the last word this year to go out a champion in his senior season.
Sicora topped McCoy in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the semis this year to get revenge and set up a championship match with Blaine senior Paul Swanson.
Swanson put up a good fight, but Sicora won the match 6-4, 6-2 to earn his second state singles championship.
Swanson beat another up-and-comer, Mahtomedi freshman Tucker Saxson 6-0, 6-4 in the opening round.
The only set Sicora would lose the entire tournament came in the first round as Eden Prairie’s Justin Haag stayed with Sicora before the veteran put down Haag 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
Haag would go on to win the consolation bracket after beating Forest Lake’s Dusty Boyer 7-6 (7-2) 6-3, 6-4 in a thrilling match.
Don’t feel too sorry for Mounds View’s young star. McCoy, one of the highest rated players his age in the nation, plans to test the professional waters this summer to see where he stands.
Spartans go back-to-back in Class A, Blake duo display their ‘A’ game
Winning state championships is nothing new for St. Paul Academy and Summit School. In fact, the Spartans won the Class A title just last season and were back for more in 2008.
St. Paul Academy overtook Rochester Lourdes 6-1 in the title match after topping Breck 4-3 in a key semifinal match between a couple of heavyweights.
Senior Pierce Norton beat Blake’s Will Oberrender 6-4, 6-1 in first singles action in the semis while freshman John Hill won a hotly contested match with Blake’s Eric Chien 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in second singles action.
The championship is the third all-time for the Spartans with all coming in the past five years.
St. Paul Academy’s Norton would leave the state tournament with a piece of the team championship but he wasn’t about to stop there.
Norton blasted through the Class A singles field – winning every set he played – until reaching the finals against Rochester Lourdes sophomore Ben Kopecky.
Although he put forth a solid effort, Norton fell to Kopecky 3-6, 4-6 to end his high school career. Kopecky didn’t lose a set through the entire singles tournament to claim his title.
Phillip (Tips) Jackley didn’t have his brother Merritt with him this time around, but that didn’t stop this Blake School junior from finding a new partner and winning another Class A doubles championship.
After winning the 2007 title with his older brother, who has since graduated, Jackley hooked up with sophomore Jack Bryant and went on to win his second straight doubles championship.
Jackley and Bryant topped St. Paul Academy’s John Wight and Dillon Titcomb 6-3, 6-3 in the finals after overcoming Breck’s duo of Grant Bemis and Dan Carpenter 6-2, 6-0 in the semis.
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