Vikings earn first win

Columbia Heights 4, North Branch 3 Despite their first multi-point match of the season, the North Branch boys tennis team couldn’t pull off their first team victory despite an oh-so-close finish against the Columbia Heights Hylanders. At first singles, Petar Kosovic played strong, but fell 6-2, 7-5. Carl Fisk had a tough time at second singles, and North Branch was down 2-0 early. Soon after, though, North Branch’s Cole Lee came off the court with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at third singles. Meanwhile, Eric Chilstrom and Tim Courtright won 6-4, 7-5 at second doubles and the match was tied at two. But, the Hylanders third doubles pair won their match and it put the balance of the match into two points for NB -- Taehyum Yoon at fourth singles and Jake Helbig and James Strzelecki at first doubles.

Yoon had lost his first set to Terrell Holmstrom 2-6. In the second set, the Korean foresign exchange student stormed back to take the set 6-2. However, Holmstrom regained control in the third set, winning 6-3 and giving Columbia Heights the team win with a 4-2 lead. But, that didn’t matter to Strzelecki and Helbig. The pair had won the first set 6-2 and then lost a grueling 6-7 (9-11) point in the second set. The resilient tandem kept their composure though and finished off the CH doubles team 6-4 in the third set to get North Branch’s third point. “This was a very close match for us,” Head Coach Chad Brusky said. “James and Jacob played a great three set match and earned a tough win. The two showed great growth and I am happy with the continued growth of the team.” North Branch 4, St. Francis 3 Although the first win of the year eluded North Branch’s grasp against Columbia Heights, it didn’t against St. Francis.

On the back of a big comeback by Kosovic at first singles and Chilstrom and Courtright at second doubles, NB secured their first victory. Many of the matches went three sets, beginning with Kosovic’s battle at first singles. The Serbian foreign exchange student was swept in the first set 0-6, and it looked like St. Francis was going to get a quick easy point at the spot. But, Kosovic held on and started to hit the corners with his great power, and he won the second set 6-1. He just kept rolling in the third set, winning 6-3 to complete the amazing comeback. At third singles, Lee took down the first set 7-5, lost the second set 2-6, but was able to regroup and win the third set 6-2 to get NB their second point on the day. Yoon followed a similar blueprint, winning easily in the first set 6-2 before falling 4-6 in the second set.

In the deciding set, Yoon rallied to top Jesse Saukhindy of St. Francis 6-3 and take a 3-1 lead after singles. Strzelecki and Helbig lost their first set 4-6, won the second set 6-2 and lost in another tough battle in the third set, 5-7. At second doubles, Chilstrom and Courtright looked to be in trouble early after losing 2-6 in the opening set. But, they staved off elimination more than once with a 7-6 (10-8) win in the second set and then finished the comeback with a 6-3 victory in the third set “What a hard fought victory!” Brusky said after the nail-biter. “We had five three set matches and we were able to pull off four of them. All four of our points came from the determination of our players in the third set. It was very impressive to see the boys play with such conviction. No one ever gave up! “I am very happy with the win, but more impressed by the character of the boys. They never gave up, always held their head high, and in the end that might have made all the difference.