While Faribault boys tennis lost 6-1 to Rochester John Marshall Tuesday, there was plenty positives to take from the occasion.
All three Rochester teams are typically among the best in the Big 9 Conference. Last year, Faribault was swept 7-0 by JM, and their opponents had easily won in most of those matches.
This year, Faribault (0-7 Big 9; 2-8 overall) showed solid improvement, challenging JM (5-1 Big 9) in all three doubles matches and picking up a great win from Carsen Kramer at No. 2 singles.
Kramer played JM’s Arjun Khurana, a top-ranked player in the Big 9, managing to pull the win in three sets at 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. It was a great match played by both players, per Faribault coach Jeff Anderson.
“Arjun was an aggressive hitter with a strong serve that Carsen did well to handle. Carsen was striking the ball well and covered his court well. He adjusts well on the court and plays very strategically, and when he plays aggressively with some well placed attacking shots, he does well.”
While JM did win the fist set 6-4, Kramer grabbed control of the second set, where he was playing more aggressively. In the tiebreaking third set, Kramer reacted to his opponent’s adjustments.
“Carsen did very well to stay in the points and play a well thought out and well executed third set,” Anderson said. “Carsen did very well to constantly adjust to Arjun’s play and minimize Arjun’s strong serving and aggressive play. He really played a great match.”
Faribault’s No. 1 doubles team of Adam Diaz-Coons and Ben Diaz-Coons played JM’s team of Braden Duchateau and Trever Nikolai, and they pushed their opponents to the brink, losting 7-5, 7-6 (8-6).
The duo was serving well and hitting great cross court shots, according to Anderson.
“They also covered their court well to challenge their opponents in most points,” he said. “With both teams trading games for most of the set, JM did well to hold on and win the first set 7-5. Both teams continued to play well into the second set and continued to trade games up to a 6-6 tie. Adam and Ben grabbed a nice 6-2 lead (in the tiebreaker) but struggled to get that final point to split sets.”
At No. 2 doubles, the Faribault team of Buay Lual and Colin Haefs played JM’s team of Alex Shabestari and Collin Daly. Luel and Haefs took a bit of the first set to get settled into their match and get control of the play. After dropping the first set 6-4, they continued to play well in the second set, challenging their opponents the entire set. But a few too many errors by the Faribault team allowed JM to win the second set and the match, 6-4, 7-5.
Faribault’s No. 3 doubles team of Mitch Gibbs and Liam Redman played JM’s team of Brandon Tasson and Nate Nigbur, and the Falcons got better throughout, eventually losing 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). Coach Anderson was very excited about the progress of his duo.
“Mitch and Liam continue to cover their spots well and also communicate well to stay in many points,” he said. “They had a slow start in the first set, but by the end of that set, they were more confident and controlling more points.”
In the second set, the Faribault pair did a better job keeping the ball away from the JM players. Coach Anderson said, “Mitch and Liam complement each other well on the court and never give up on a point.”
Faribault is scheduled to travel to Albert Lea on Thursday, April 25 for a Big 9 Conference match against the Tigers, scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m.
Most Popular
Comments / 0