ECM hands Raider tennis team first conference loss

Talk about it

The Raider boys tennis team found out last Thursday why Eau Claire Memorial is the third-ranked team in the state.

Hudson pushed the Old Abes to three sets in two matches, but the Raiders couldn’t win more than two games in any other match as Memorial handed Hudson its first Big Rivers Conference loss of the season by a score of 7-0.

Saturday, the Raiders went 2-1 at the Woodbury Invitational, defeating Duluth Marshall 4-3 and River Falls 5-2 and losing to Woodbury 5-2.

Head coach Dave Dahl said the Raiders had some small victories in their loss to Eau Claire Memorial, despite the lopsided score.

“We put a little dent in the scoreboard today, taking two sets from them, but the final score tells the story,” he said. “No other conference school has really come close to winning a set against them, so for Max (Hawksford) at No. 1 singles and our No. 3 doubles team of Alex Lasiuk and Andy Mitchell to force a third set in their matches is a good sign.”

Hawksford bounced back after losing his first set, 0-6, to win the second, 6-2, but dropped the third set, 3-6. Lasiuk and Mitchell kept their match close throughout but fell, 5-7, 7-5, 3-6.

Saturday at Woodbury, Hudson opened the tournament with a 4-3 victory over Duluth Marshall. Jimmy Setzer won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles and Jeff Dahl won 7-6, 6-4 at No. 4 singles while the No. 2 doubles team of Ben Duerst and Mike Youderian won 6-2, 6-0 and the No. 3 doubles team of Lasiuk and Mitchell won 6-1, 6-1.

“Marshall is one of the better small private school teams in Minnesota, so this was a nice win,” Coach Dahl said. “Ben and Mike, and Alex and Andy cruised in doubles while Jeff did a nice job of fighting back from a 4-5 deficit in his first set. Jimmy once again just figured out a way to win. He leads the team with an overall record of 10-1.”

Hudson’s only wins against Woodbury came at No. 2 doubles, where Setzer and Dahl won 6-1, 6-3, and at No. 3 doubles, where Lasiuk and Mitchell won 6-2, 6-2.

“They overwhelmed us in singles, but we more than held our own in doubles,” Coach Dahl said. “Eric Kromer and David Nettleton at No. 1 doubles played a great match but fell just short, 2-6, 7-5, 8-10. If they continue to play like they did in this match they’ll surprise a few teams down the road.”

The Raiders swept the singles matches in their 5-2 victory over River Falls. Setzer posted a 6-0, 6-4 win at the No. 1 spot and Dahl won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2 while Lasiuk won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 and Mitchell won 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4.

In doubles play, Luke Jepperson and Nettleton cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2.

This week the Raiders, now 3-1 in the Big Rivers Conference, 8-4 overall, will travel to New Richmond to face New Richmond and Amery Thursday, May 13 and compete at the Big Rivers Conference Tournament at Eau Claire Memorial Saturday, May 15.

Tags: sports, tennis, raiders, prep