THE GLOBE
The boys high school tennis meet in Worthington Thursday afternoon was abruptly abandoned before 5:30 p.m. as sirens sounded the alarm for a severe thunderstorm coming in from the east.
St. James Area held a 3-2 lead, but two matches were still undecided — fourth singles and second doubles. It will be picked up from there, weather and schedule permitting, on another date.
Boys tennis
St. James at Worthington (susp.)
Alec Langerud looked very sharp for the Trojans at No. 1 singles, winning a 6-2, 6-2 decision over the Saints’ Preston Wagner. WHS also won at No. 3 doubles, where Matthew Becker and Evan Hansberger prevailed 7-5, 6-1 over Christian Pineda and Dylan Reid.
St. James put it in the books at No. 2 singles where Andrei Rivera outlasted Ian Barber 6-2, 7-6 (8), at No. 3 singles where Brennan Kern topped Ezra Bennett 6-0, 6-0, and at No. 1 doubles as Vince Brown and Payton Brown beat Quentin Burns and Tyson Henkels 6-4, 6-4.
Despite losing, Barber performed admirably, recovering from a 5-2 second-set deficit to pull into a 5-5 tie.
For Langerud, who had lost eight matches in a row, his win over Wagner — his first since the spring season opener — was a huge shot in the arm. The day was very windy, but Langerud handled the wind like a pro.
“I’ve been on a losing streak for a while, and I was starting to lose some confidence,” Langerud said. “Especially because it was so windy, everything kind of added up, ending the losing streak and battling through the conditions.”
Wagner, a left-hander, struggled throughout the match with his serving toss. Langerud, however, whose toss is not as high, had no trouble with his serve. He was also consistently sharp with his ground strokes, using touch and accuracy to maintain control.
“I noticed he had a real high toss. I noticed the high toss, that the wind was gonna push it,” said Langerud. “I shortened it up today, especially. I just went with it. I was hitting it as hard as I can, and it just went in.
“Mr. Marquardt (Worthington’s head coach) said I seem to do well in bad conditions,” Langerud remarked later.
His first match win this year, against a New Ulm opponent, was in cold weather that hovered around 18 degrees.