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Andover Tournament

The Chisago Lakes boys tennis team kept their strong season rolling last weekend during the annual Andover Invite on Saturday.

Behind seven guys participating in championship matches, the Wildcats finished tied for second place in the meet. Eagan, who is ranked 12th in the state won the event with 24 total points. Chisago Lakes tied with crosstown rival Forest Lake, the 14th ranked team in the state, in second place with 21 points.

Although the team compiled points, it was individuals who earned the points, so it was a tournament much like sections will end up being for these guys.

At first singles, Johannes Rau ran through his first two matches, winning 6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1 before playing Zach Eckstein of Eagan. He beat Eckstein, but had to labor, winning 6-1, 7-6 (7-5). That match left him a little worn out facing the top player in the state in Dusty Boyer. Rau's only loss on the season had come at Boyer's hands earlier in the season, and it was no different here, as Boyer came out on top 6-1, 6-1, giving Rau second place.

At second singles, Joe Turnquist breezed through the first three rounds, winning 6-1, 6-3, then 6-0, 6-1, then 6-0, 6-2. That left him against Toby Boyer, Dusty's younger brother, and another one of the top players in the state. One of Turnquist's few losses on the year so far came to Boyer earlier this year, and much like Rau, Turnquist didn't fare any better this time around against a Boyer, losing 6-0, 6-1 to claim second place in the tournament.

Vinnie Gorski was the third Wildcat to make it to the championship round, as he won 6-2, 6-1 in his first round match, then 6-3, 6-0 in his semi-final match up. In the championship round, he played one of the top third singles players in the state in Brendan Hollidge of Eagan. Hollidge had no problem disposing of Gorski, winning 6-0, 6-0 and giving Gorski and the Wildcats their third second place of the day.

At fourth singles, Blake Lizotte was the first of the Wildcats to not make the championship round, but the seventh grader still won out after his first loss and finished in third place. He won his first match over junior Dillon Danforth of Andover 6-3, 6-1. He lost in straight sets in the semi-finals to Drew Nichols of Eagan, the eventual champion. In his third place match, Lizotte cruised past sophomore Austin Riedeman of Forest Lake, winning 6-0, 6-2 for the third place finish.

At first doubles Brett Lizotte and Brian Hynes breezed through their first two rouns, but came up with a disappointing second place after losing 1-6, 3-6 to Zack Decker and Brett Gravelle, a pair from Forest Lake that Lizotte and Hynes had beaten earlier this year. The loss marked the first time the CL pair had lost this year after starting the year 10-0.

In second doubles, Will Gillach and Albin Anner also suffered their first defeat of the year. After winning the first two rounds easily, the pair ran into a senior duo from Forest Lake, Jake Albee and Cal Eichinger. It was a tough match between the two Lake Area teams, but the Forest Lake tandem came out on top 6-3, 7-6.

At third doubles, Hunter Haas and Jake Sells had the unfortunate draw of facing the eventual champions in the first roun. They lost after a 7-5, 6-1 contest, but then the two flew through the consolation rounds, winning 8-0 and 8-2 to claim fifth place.

"I'm really proud of how we're competing with the top teams in the state and how we've narrowed the gap," Head Coach Corey McKinnon said. "Not long ago, we were in the bottom half of this tournament, but the kids came away a little dejected from the tournament, and that's how high their expectations are. It's nice to see the kids want more and how they've come along.

St. Louis Park 4, Chisago Lakes 3

One of the few remaining hurdles between Chisago Lakes and a North Suburban Conference championship was St. Louis Park. The Orioles have been the top dog in the conference for the past few years, and even though Chisago Lakes has been on the up and up, the St. Louis Park match was still the biggest of the year for them, and it didn't disappoint in its grand expectations.

Chisago Lakes began the meet with three quick victories to grab a choke hold on the match. Rau won 6-3, 7-5 at first singles, Lizotte and Hynes cruised to a victory at first doubles by a 6-1, 6-2 margin, and Sells and Haas won 7-5, 6-4.

Although St. Louis Park got an early point in too when Blake Lizotte fell 1-6, 2-6 at fourth singles, things looked good for Chisago Lakes.

At second singles, Turnquist had one of those Jekyll and Hyde performances, as he lost 2-6 in the first set, won 6-1 in the second set, and then lost 0-6 in the third set. That loss was already tough enough for CL to take as Gorski fell to a similar fate at third singles.

He lost the first set 5-7, won the second 6-3 and then lost the last one 3-6.

"Neither one of them had their best days and had to deal with some adversity, but both battled," McKinnon explained. "Tennis is such a momentous sport, and you can play well for long stretches, but lose a lot of points. You can also play average for a long stretch and win some points, and either one can really bring spirits down. In tennis, the net separates opponents. You can't come out and hit harder or go faster, you'll still lose."

With those two gut-wrenching losses, the match came down to the second doubles duo of Gillach and Anner. The two had won the first set 6-3, and they seemed to be well on their way to a match win in the second set. They were up 5-2 in the second set at 40-15 with two match points, and they couldn't quite close out the Oriole tandem. That gave them life, and they ran with it. The Wildcat pair went from being up 5-2 to being down 6-5 before getting it back to tie break. It didn't matter, though, as the Oriole pair was on fire. They won the tie break 7-4 and eventually won the third set 6-4, sending the Wildcats to their first NSC loss on the year.

"Even though we lost, we can be victorious on a day like that," McKinnon said. "We can use it as an experience. We can take the loss and learn from it - either stay down or get up and say 'We're better than that, let's get back on track'."

Despite the loss, the Wildcats still control their own destiny to a NSC Championship. St. Louis Park lost to Benilde-St. Margaret's earlier this year, and the 'Cats beat BSM. As long as Chisago Lakes can beat St. Francis tonight, they'll end the season with one loss. At worst, they would then be in a three-way tie for the conference lead, and each school would be awarded a conference championship.

But, McKinnon doesn't want to dwell on the one loss or anything that went wrong on the day. "I don't want any 'woulda, coulda, shoulda's' from anyone," he said. "We've done so much good on the season so far, and you can't define our season on one loss. Winning and losing has no ties to our identity. It's about the process, and working hard and having fun."

The young coach still does love the opportunity to face top teams like Eagan and Forest Lake and St. Louis Park. "It's always positive when we play a top team. You can't improve unless you're challenged," he explained. "We still have a lot of improvement in front of us, and we just have to work harder in practice, go harder in games and relish the opportunities we get."

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