Eagan Tennis Remains Perfect In Conference Play

In a match delayed one day by rain, the Eagan boys tennis team defeated visiting Burnsville 6-1 in a South Suburban Conference dual match on Friday evening to improve to 8-2 overall and 5-0 in circuit play.

"The score makes it look like we dominated," Wildcats coach Scott Nichols said. "But it could have gone either way."

Burnsville netted a win at No. 1 singles, but from there it was all Eagan—although two matches went to three sets and one ended in a second-set tiebreaker.

"We finished strong," Nichols said. 

Earning wins for the Wildcats in singles play were: No. 2 Zach Ekstein (6-0, 6-2), No. 3 Brendan Hollidge (6-4, 7-6 (7-6)) and No. 4 Drew Nichols (7-6 (8-6), 6-0). 

Claiming doubles victories for Eagain were: No. 1 Jeff Smith/Ben Eckstein (6-4, 6-3, 6-2), No. 2 Saubabh Mishra/Brandon Vuong (6-1, 6-2) and No. 3 Reid Emmons/Andrew Finnegan (6-2, 6-1, 7-5).

The win means that the Wildcats will carry a perfect conference mark into the meat of their South Suburban schedule with matches against Apple Valley and Eastview coming up next week. 

"It's been a nice surprise," Nichols said. "Our A.D. was saying that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but we're just reloading.

"We've got a couple of our kids playing at a high collegiate level and our young players are really stepping up."

Following a home match against St. Paul Academy— ranked fourth in Class A—Eagan plays both the Eagles and Lightning on the road at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday and 3:30 p.m. Thursday, respectively, before playing at the Andover Tournament next Saturday.