Hawksford to compete at state tennis meet
Raider sophomore Max Hawksford won his quarterfinal match against Nick Ackerman of Marshfield to clinch a spot at state before going on to a fourth place finish at No. 1 singles at the Wausau West Sectional last Thursday, May 27.By: Bob Burrows, Hudson Star-Observer
- Max Hawksford returns a shot
Raider sophomore Max Hawksford won his quarterfinal match against Nick Ackerman of Marshfield to clinch a spot at state before going on to a fourth place finish at No. 1 singles at the Wausau West Sectional last Thursday.
Hawksford will face senior David Yarmulnik of Nicolet in the opening round of the WIAA State Boys Tennis Championships Thursday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison.
“I’m not sure we’ve had a sophomore go to state as a singles player since we’ve been a Division 1 school,” Raider head coach Dave Dahl said. “This is more excitement than I anticipated to end this year. Every athlete would like to end their season at state, and Max has set himself apart as one of the few to achieve that goal.”
“Hawksford defeated Ackerman 6-4, 6-3 in the sectional quarterfinal to earn his berth at state.
“Max simply outsmarted his Marshfield opponent, who wanted to turn the match into a slugfest,” Dahl said. “Max skillfully mixed up the pace throughout to keep Ackerman from ever getting into a rhythm.”
Hawksford lost to Bryan Miles of Wausau East, 4-6, 0-6, in the semifinals before falling to Chalee Sriprasert of Stevens Point in the third place match.
The rest of the Raider sectional qualifiers needed to win their flights to advance to state but came up short.
Jimmy Setzer defeated Chris Clark, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals at No. 2 singles before losing in the finals to Mike Roden of Eau Claire Memorial, 0-6, 2-6.
“It was yet another gutsy performance by Jimmy as he took care of Clark, who came in with a 20-2 record,” Dahl said. “To finish second in the 16-team sectional is a great way to finish his career. Jimmy is one of the best competitors we’ve had here. I was not surprised he finished with a team-best 17-3 record.”
Jeff Dahl advanced to the finals at No. 4 singles with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Graham Edwardson of Stevens Point before losing to Drew Schaefer of Eau Claire Memorial, 0-6, 2-6.
“Jeff maintained an edge against Edwardson and never surrendered the lead as he gained a spot in the final, “Coach Dahl said. “Schaefer had his number for the third time this season, but a 14-5 record and runner-up sectional finish is something he can be proud of.”
The Raiders No. 3 doubles team of Seth Blum and Tanner Owens lost 3-6, 1-6 to Stevens Point in the semifinals before dropping their third place match, 4-6, 4-6 to Wausau East.
“I was pleased to get this pair through to Wausau,” Dahl said. “They gained some great experience and I’m sure an urge to get back and do some damage in sectional next season.”
The Raiders finished second in the team standings with a total of 24 points. Eau Claire Memorial won the sectional title with 52 points and will move on to the WIAA State Team Championships June 11-12 in Madison.
Tags: sports, tennis, raiders, prep
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