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Seeding the doubles tournament in section tennis play is always an exercise in futility. There’s always plenty of mixing and matching between regular singles players and doubles players and finding the best combo to go the deepest.

Both Chisago Lakes’ doubles teams — one a new team and one a very familiar team — got a high seed, but both bowed out to significantly lower seeds at different stages in the tournament.

Fifth seeded Rhivers Sauter and Nolan LeVasseur got a bye in the first round and then moved on to face Cambridge-Isanti’s Justin Sauze and Elliot Knudsvig in the second round at Blaine High School on Thursday, May 15.

Knudsvig and Sauze, who were seeded 12th, made short work of the newly formed CL doubles team, winning 6-3, 6-2 to move on to the next round, where they fell to Forest Lake brothers Malachi and Maverick McKinnon.

Chisago Lakes had their own set of brothers that were hoping to make a deep run in Caleb and Aaron Brink. The pair have played together their whole lives and have been CL’s top doubles team the past few years.

They also received a bye in the first round before moving on to face unseeded Briely Gunn and Ryan Kraemer of Anoka.

The Brink brothers made quick work of the Tornado tandem, winning 6-2, 6-1 to move onto the third round.

In that round, they took on Carter Fellows and Brandon Hill of Elk River, who were seeded 11th. The Elk pair had upset the sixth seed in the second round.

Against the Brink’s, Fellows and Hill fought off a first set tiebreaker and beat the CL pair 7-5. In the second set, Fellows and Hill broke the Brink brothers serve early and then were able to hold on for a 6-3 win in straight sets.

That set them up for an all Elk River half of the semifinals bracket. Fellows and Hill will take on second seeded Jack Gangl and Myles Thompson, also of Elk River.

On the other side, the McKinnon brothers will take on Keagen Lowman and Micah Gustafson of Cambridge-Isanti.

In the singles bracket, Henry Kern and Will Walker were CL’s entrants and both advanced one round before bowing out.

Kern was unseeded and upset Brainerd’s Owen Robertson, who was seeded 12th, in the first round 6-2, 7-5. Unfortunately, he ran into fifth seeded Logan Lunseth of Blaine in the next round and fell 6-0, 6-1.

For Walker, his last career match for Chisago Lakes was extended by one after he beat fellow unseeded entrant Gunner Dorweiler of Princeton, 6-1, 6-1. Awaiting him, though, was second seeded Henry Boese of Elk River, who beat Walker 6-1, 6-1.

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