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WSHS earned a doubles sweep and senior Jay Moran locked up the match at No. 2 singles as the Winhawks defeated Northfield 4-3 in the Section 1AA quarterfinals Thursday.
The Winhawks (14-3) will carry the No. 2 seed and play the winner of Hastings/Owatonna at the Section 1AA semifinals beginning Tuesday at Lakeville South.
The Winhawks were bounced 6-1 from last year’s section semifinals by Eagan.
“Our goal is to try to get into the championship and beat the No. 1 seed,” WSHS coach Tom Sanvik said. “We’re playing some very good tennis right now. We’re extremely competitive at every position. I can’t ask much more of the kids.”
The Winhawks quickly grabbed a 3-1 lead over Northfield behind a 3-0 sweep in the doubles matches. The Raiders pulled to within 3-2 before Moran picked up a three-set win — 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 — at No. 2 singles to seal the match.
Senior Ben Knuesel returned after missing most of the season with a wrist injury and teamed up with Alec Brown for a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
WSHS’s Jon Sanvik and Kyle Martin won at No. 1 doubles, while Kyle Swanson and Martin Feddersen won at No. 2 doubles.
“Our doubles did an outstanding job,” Sanvik said. “We view our doubles as one of our strong points. They’re definitely a force to be reckoned with.”
Rochester Lourdes 7, Cotter 0
For Cotter, the team of Joey Nadeau and Sam Werle came close to winning in doubles but fell 6-4, 6-4.
“They are a very good, solid team,” Cotter coach Blake Duden said. “We had our shots at doubles but we couldn’t pull it off.”
Baseball
WSHS 13, Albert Lea 0 (5)
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — The Winhawks had a breakthrough performance, and Albert Lea paid for it.
WSHS pounded out 15 hits, including seven players with multiple hits, and put up 11 runs in the top of the fifth in a 10-run rule shortened game.
“We’ve been in almost every ball game we’ve played this year,” WSHS coach Matt Smith said. “We’ve been right there. It was nice to see the guys break out and go get one tonight.”
WSHS’s Logan Hemker went 3-for-3 with a double, and the Winhawks got two hits apiece from Brandon Schmit, Jeff Walters, Trevor Semann, Arik Jacquart, Austin Rumpca and Jake Walther.
Tom Kreidermacher struck out six and held Albert Lea to four hits and one walk in a complete-game victory.
Stewartville 2, Cotter 0
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — Matt Wolfe pitched well for Cotter, but Bruce Babcock pitched better.
Babcock struck out nine and walked one in the two-hit win, while Wolfe struck out five and walked one.
Stewartville got both its runs in the third inning with two singles, a passed ball and an intentional walk to lead the bases, before Matt Smith nailed a two-run single.
“Wolfe pitched awesome, and the defense was there,” Cotter coach Mat O’Brien said. “We just struggled hitting. Babcock, he was a good pitcher. He probably threw mid-80s with good command.”
Boys golf
HVL Championships
DODGE CENTER, Minn. — Andrew Fricke placed 10th overall with a 79 for Cotter, which finished sixth (338) at the 13-team Hiawatha Valley League championships.
Cotter’s Aaron Theis shot an 84 at the par 72 Dodge Country Club.
Fricke shot a 39 on the front nine, which is a par 37.
Both Theis and Fricke were named all-conference. Theis was the 16th best in the HVL, while Fricke was one better at 15.
Medalist was Lake City’s Spencer Halder (71). Stewartville won the meet with a 310.
Big Nine Triangular
WSHS finished in first place by shooting 318, nine shots better than second place Albert Lea. Mankato East finished third, shooting 398.
John Gaspar of the Winhawks was the medalist, shooting 75 and William Leaf finished one stroke back, shooting 76.
“To shoot below 320 and have two kids in the mid-70s was great,” WSHS coach Jon Hogenson said. “This brought our conference record to 4-4. I think we are where we want to be going into the Big Nine tournament.”
Matt Beyerstedt shot 82 and Zach Erickson shot 85 to round out the scoring for the Winhawks.
