Netters 2nd at sectional

• Max Hawksford

Max Hawksford finished third at No. 1 singles at last Thursday’s sectional meet in Marshfield to earn his second straight trip to the WIAA State Tennis Championships. Hawksford will face Alex Boomgarden of Verona Area in a first round match Thursday in Madison. Photo by Bob Burrows

Talk about it

Junior Max Hawksford clinched his second straight trip to state at last Thursday’s WIAA Division 1 tennis sectional in Marshfield.

Jeff Dahl added a second place finish at No. 2 singles and Jon Paquette took second at No. 4 singles to help the Raiders to a second place team finish at the 16-team sectional.

“I’m proud of what this team accomplished this season,” head coach Dave Dahl said. “We were not that experienced to start the year, so to finish second in the sectional was a reflection of some significant progress.”

Hawksford clinched his berth at state with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over his Wausau West opponent in his first sectional match. He lost to Wausau East, 3-6, 3-6, in the semifinals before bouncing back with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Stevens Point in the third place match.

“I had a lot of faith that Max would make it back to Madison,” Raider head coach Dave Dahl said. “He’s been solid all season. He didn’t get the friendliest draw, but I know having been to Madison before will help him.”

Hawksford will face Alex Boomgarden (24-6) of Verona Area at 2 p.m. Thursday in a first round match at state.

Jeff Dahl finished second at No. 2 singles, winning 6-1, 6-0 against a Wisconsin Rapids opponent before losing 0-6, 2-6 to Eau Claire Memorial.

“Jeff had a great season and second place at the two singles flight is something he should be proud of,” his father and coach said.

Paquette pulled out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Wausau East before losing to Eau Claire Memorial, 1-6, 2-6, to take second at No. 4 singles.

“Jon really came on strong at the end of the season,” Dahl said. “To finish as the sectional runner-up is a great showing in his first varsity season.”

Seth Blum suffered a pair of losses, 2-6, 0-6 to Chippewa Falls and 1-6, 7-5, 3-6 to Stevens Point, to finish fourth at No. 3 singles.

“Seth took a couple of tough losses, but the experience at sectionals will be invaluable for next season,” Dahl said. “He did a lot of good things for us this season.”

In doubles play, Andy Mitchell and Alex Lasiuk lost to Stevens Point, 2-6, 4-6, to end their season,

“These two didn’t have their best day, so it was tough to have them bow out,” Dahl said. “They had a great season playing in a very challenging spot. With these guys graduating, we lose a couple of outstanding kids who did an excellent of representing Hudson High School.”

At No. 2 doubles, Griffin Robertson and Jacob Shreffler lost 4-6, 6-7 to Marshfield and 3-6, 5-7 to Chippewa Falls.

“Two close losses were frustrating for these two, but I was happy with their effort and more than satisfied with their contributions to the team this season,” Dahl said.

Tags: sports, tennis, raiders, prep