June 9, 2011 at 10:27 a.m.
Lizotte and another Rau going to state
Lizotte and another Rau going to state
The pair went undefeated on the year and cruised through section on their way to a state tournament berth.
This year, the last names are the same, but the first name in front of Rau and the familiarity are on much different levels.
Lizotte paired with Johannes Rau to blast through the Section 7AA doubles brackets. Johannes is David's younger brother, and although David returned to Germany at the end of last school year, Johannes arrived with a dangerous arsenal of tennis skills.
In fact, Johannes was so effective that he was the Wildcats' top singles player all year and played strictly singles.
Lizotte teamed with Brian Hynes for most of the year, and the pair lost only one varsity match all year.
But, with two-time defending state champion Dusty Boyer in the singles bracket, Head Coach Corey McKinnon shifted Rau to doubles with Lizotte, and the move paid off as the pair is heading to the state tournament.
In the quarterfinals, they topped Jared Sherman and Conor Hoolihan of Grand Rapids easily 6-2, 6-1.
In the semifinals, they were pushed to the brink early, losing the first set 4-6 and leaving them one set away from elimination. But, the resilient pair rebounded to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-2.
In the finals, they faced Zack Decker and Brett Gravelle of Forest Lake. It was the only team that had beaten Lizotte and Hynes all year. Although it was close throughout, the CL tandem never dropped a set en route to a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 victory to earn their way to the state tourney.
Rau and Lizotte will face off against state tournament newcomers Matt Schull and Sebastian Beermann of Henry Sibley in the first round at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 9. The match will take place at the Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.
The pair are in the same bracket as Josh and Sam Gearou, the young tandem from Elk River that knocked Lizotte and the elder Rau out of the state tournament last year.
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