Sports
Eagan Boys Take Third At State Tennis Meet
Wildcats dominate the singles and defeat Mahtomedi 5-2 to finish third in the 2012 state boys tennis tournament Wednesday.
Tenth-ranked Eagan swamped Mahtomedi 5-2 to finish third in the 2012 state boys tennis tournament Wednesday at Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
Eagan swept the singles Wednesday, winning all four events. Brady Radermacher highlighted the match as he rallied from a 2-6 loss in the first set of No. 1 singles for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Zach Ekstein, Drew Nichols and Simon Barnicle of the Wildcats all won in straight sets in singles to clinch the win. All three were undefeated in the state tournament.
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In the opening round on Tuesday, Eagan knocked off Class AA defending state champion and third-ranked Rochester Mayo 4-3.
The Wildcats took three of four singles matches and one of three doubles to earn the win.
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Winning for Eagan on Tuesday were Ekstein, Nichols and Barnicle in singles and the No. 2 doubles team of Dylan Mannetter and Andrew Finnegan.
It was the third top-four finish for the Wildcats in four years.
Eagan loses its A doubles team and two of its top four singles players, but returns everyone else next spring.
“We tell the kids that we reload rather than rebuild” said Eagan boys tennis coach Scott Nichols. “We’ve got a lot of talent coming back.”
EAGAN 5, MAHTOMEDI 2
• Singles: 1. Brady Radermacher, E, def. Ty Young, M, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. 2. Zach Ekstein, E, def. Zach Plooster, M, 6-0, 6-0. 3. Drew Nichols, E, def. Cooper Schwieters, M, 6-2, 6-2. 4. Simon Barnicle, E, def. Ryan Meger, M, 6-2, 6-1.
• Doubles: 1. Kishore Damodaran and Teddy Bowie, M, def. Ben Ekstein and Brandon Vuong, E, 6-1, 6-2. 2. Hardt Bergmann and Thomas Comfort, M, def. Dylan Mannetter & Andrew Finnegan, E, 6-3, 6-1. 3. Andrew Lockhart and Seante Vang, E, def. Mark Oldani and Derek Johnson, M, 0-6, 7-5, 7-5.
EAGAN 4, ROCHESTER MAYO 3
• Singles: 1. Thomas Nath, RM, def. Brady Radermacher, E, 6-0, 6-3. 2. Zach Ekstein, E, def. Eric Rustad, RM, 6-3, 6-0. 3. Drew Nichols, E, def. Haakon Stans, RM, 6-0, 6-1. 4. Simon Barnicle, E, def. Cameron Bruce, RM, 6-1, 6-0.
• Doubles: 1. Michael Poeschla and Nicholas Ackerman, RM, def. Ben Ekstein & Brandon Vuong, E, 6-1, 6-3. 2. Dylan Mannetter and Andrew Finnegan, E, def. Sawyer Bock and Ingrid Neel, RM, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. 3. Ray Zhang and Andrew Johnson, RM, def. Ryan Ossell and Dominic Carlisano, E, 6-3, 6-3.
