Pirates beat Prowlers in boys tennis dual

by Scott DCamp Sports Editor Thief River Falls came up one individual win short in a 4-3 boys tennis dual meet loss at Crookston Thursday, April 25. “Our match in Crookston was a very windy day,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Shawna Spears. “It made it difficult for anyone to play solid tennis as the wind very easily carried the ball. However, it was still a competitive day.” The Prowlers made some lineup changes as they search for their strongest combination of doubles and singles spots. Caleb Funk moved up to the number three singles spot from the number four spot. Jack Dodson moved from number two doubles to number four singles spot. Noah Burkel moved to the number one doubles and Ike Olson moved from number one doubles to number two doubles. “We changed things around a little bit, but we were confident with what we were sending out against section opponent Crookston,” Spears said. The new lineup looked strong early, with the Prowlers taking a 3-2 lead in six of the seven matches. Things went south from there however. “We started getting frustrated with the wind and doubting our abilities,” Spears said. “We ended up only winning two of the first sets, which were at 1 and 3 doubles. We still had the potential to come back but being a young team, we are still learning how to fight the mental battle of these kind of matches.” The Prowlers got wins at the number one and three doubles matches. Lucas Rantanen/Burkel defeated Jack Everett/Grant Funk 6-3, 6-3 in the one doubles match, and Wyatt Williams/Carter Svendsgaard defeated Colton Osborn/Hudson Rick 6-1, 6-2 in the number three doubles match. The Prowlers third win came in the number one singles match, where Jett Cornelius rallied to win in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. “We just fell short to Crookston three to four as a team,” Spears said. “Again, we learned some things and saw where we struggle, but it only lit the fire in these boys for the next time that we see them. We have the skill and we have the potential, it is just making sure to kick it into gear at the right time.” Crooksotn 4, Thief River Falls 3 Singles: No. 1 - Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls def. Isaac Thomforde, Crookston, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; No. 2 - Reggie Winjum, Crookston def. Spencer Hempel, Thief River Falls, 6-4, 6-4; No. 3 - Gunnar Groven, Crookston def. Kaleb Funk, Thief River Falls, 6-3, 6-2; No. 4 - Sam Widseth, Crookston def. Jack Dodson, Thief River Falls, 6-3, 6-0. Doubles: No. 1 - Lucas Rantanen/Noah Burkel, Thief River Falls def. Jack Everett/Grant Funk, Crookston, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 - Tim Brule/Caden Boike, Crookston def. Ike Olson/Nathan Dearth, Thief River Falls, 7-5, 6-0; No. 3 - Wyatt Williams/Carter Svendsgaard, Thief River Falls def. Colton Osborn/Hudson Rick, Crookston, 6-1, 6-2.