Tennis Team Gains Experience

The Bulldogs boys tennis team lost three matches to Harrisburg, Brookings, and Vermillion at the Brookings Quadrangular on April 28. They were defeated by Aberdeen Central in a dual match on May 1, and we’re edged out by Yellow Medicine East on May 2.

Brookings Triangular
Milbank faced Harrisburg in its first match of the day and fell 8-1. David Basilio was the lone winner at his number three singles position. “He did a nice job of keeping the ball deeper in the court making returns difficult for his opponent,” stated Bulldog Head Coach Jim Dahl. “Also, his decisions to advance and approach to allow for winning volleys were key improvements in his game.”
The Dawgs dropped 8-1 to Brookings in the second match of the day. Ethan Bohn won his number six singles match to lead the team. “Ethan played his best match of the year,” said Dahl. “He mixed in drop shots, deeper ground strokes, solid serves, and angled volleys with a great deal of consistency, putting constant pressure on his opponent.”

Milbank was edged out 6-3 by Vermillion to close out the day. David Basilio and Marcos Basilio defeated their opponents in singles play before teaming up for a tie break victory in doubles. “They were very upbeat and carried that attitude into singles play,” stated Dahl.

“This day was a good test of our stamina and conditioning at this point in the season,” said Dahl. “With only six varsity matches left before the state tournament, we have our work cut out for us to reach our potential.”

Milbank 1, Harrisburg 8
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren fell to Jackson Stoutamire, 10-0; 2. Moritz Wortmann lost to Colby Reynolds, 10-2; 3. David Basilio defeated Jacob Hanssen, 10-7; 4. Marcos Basilio dropped to Gavin Hatch, 10-1; 5. Nathan Loutsch fell to Karter Lein, 10-1; 6. Ethan Bohn lost to Connor Sperber, 10-6. Exhibition match – Caden Ebsen fell to Cole Titze, 10-5.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Wortmann fell to Stoutamire/Reynolds, 10-0; 2. D. Basilio/M. Basilio lost to Hatch/Sperber, 10-1; 3. Loutsch/Bohn dropped to Lein/Cole VanHolland, 10-1.
Milbank 1, Brookings 8
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren lost to Jonah Dobbs, 10-2; 2. Moritz Wortmann fell to Dalton Rittershaus, 10-3; 3. David Basilio dropped to Micah Ardry, 10-4; 4. Marcos Basilio fell to Zach Weber, 10-0; 5. Nathan Loutsch lost to Alex Miley, 10-0; 6. Ethan Bohn defeated Dawson Peters, 10-0. Exhibition matches – Caden Ebsen won over Jason Min, 7-5; Caden Ebsen defeated Dylan Ohlsen, 6-1.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Wortmann fell to Dobbs/Rittershaus, 10-2; 2. D. Basilio/M. Basilio lost to Ardry/Weber, 10-6; 3. Loutsch/Bohn dropped to Miley/Peters, 10-4.
Milbank 3, Vermillion 6
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren fell to Avery Mollet, 5-0 injury default; 2. Moritz Wortmann lost to Joel VanPeursem, 10-8; 3. David Basilio defeated Owen Mechling, 10-3; 4. Marcos Basilio won over Liam Mechling, 10-1; 5. Nathan Loutsch fell to Ross Dahloff, 10-3; 6. Caden Ebsen dropped to Harrison Freeman, 10-7.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Wortmann fell to Mollet/VanPeursem, 10-6; 2. D. Basilio/M. Basilio won over Mechling/Mechling, 11-10 (4); 3. Loutsch/Ethan Bohn lost to Dahloff/Freeman, 10-2.

Milbank traveled to Aberdeen Monday, May 1, and came away with a 9-0 loss to the Central Golden Eagles. Coach Dahl noted that David Basilio played a nice match at number three singles as well as a competitive match with him and teammate Marcos Basilio at number two doubles. Caden Ebsen and Keaton Hagen started out strong in their number one singles match, only to see their lead diminish. “The second set was also very close going down to 4-6,” explained Dahl. “There were many strong points and best of all, they worked well together in complimenting each others serve games with strong net play.”

Milbank 0, Aberdeen Central 9
Singles
1. Caden Ebsen fell to Jesse Margelas, 6-1, 6-0; 2. Keaton Hagen lost to Matt Hallan, 6-0, 6-1; 3. David Basilio dropped to Dylan Baclor, 6-2 6-4; 4. Marcos Basilio fell to Andrew Hartze, 6-0, 6-0; 5. Nathan Loutsch fell to Luke Reierson, 6-0, 6-0; 6. Ethan Bohn lost to Tyson Miller, 6-0, 6-0. Exhibition match – Connor VanVooren defeated Connor Duvan, 6-0, 6-0; Connor VanVooren fell to Alex Tennon, 6-4, 4-6, 7-10.
Doubles
1. Ebsen/Hagen fell to Zach Gansor/Justin Tepley, 6-4, 6-4; 2. D. Basilio/M. Basilio lost to D. Boclor/A. Hartze, 6-2, 6-4; 3. Loutsch/Bohn dropped to Reierson/Nic Allen, 6-0, 6-0.

Milbank hosted Yellow Medicine East Tuesday, May 2, at Cantine Courts and were edged out 5-4 in varsity action. Wortmann, Marcos Basilio and Bohn were the winners for the Bulldogs in singles play while the team of Loutsch/Bohn secured a doubles victory.

Bohn was the double winners on the day. “When Ethan is on with his first serve, it really lifts his overall level of play,” mentioned Coach Dahl. “His second serves and ground strokes were improved in consistency.”

The Milbank junior varsity team rolled to a 6-3 victory with wins from VanVooren, Hagen, Jose Chen and Angel Chen in singles. VanVooren and Hagen teamed up for a solid doubles win as did Keegan Wheeler and Benett Street.

Milbank will face Aberdeen Roncalli Monday, May 8, and Sioux Falls Christian Thursday, May 11, both at Cantine Courts in Milbank. The team will wrap up another busy week, and close out the regular season, with two matches against Madison and St. Thomas More in Madison on Saturday, May 13.

Milbank 4, YME 5
Varsity Singles
1. Caden Ebsen fell to Matthew Virnig, 10-4; 2. Moritz Wortmann defeated Noah Lusti, 10-5; 3. David Basilio lost to Cody Spen, 10-6; 4. Marcos Basilio won over Ammon Bennett, 10-6; 5. Nathan Loutsch dropped to Cody Zimmer, 10-5; 6. Ethan Bohn downed Nick Schindele, 10-6.
Varsity Doubles
1. Ebsen/Wortmann fell to Virnig/Lusti, 10-1; 2. Basilio/Basilio lost to Spen/Bennett, 10-4; 3. Loutsch/Bohn defeated Zimmer/Schindele, 10-2.
Junior Varsity/Middle School – Milbank 6, YME 3
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren defeated Jakob Pringle, 8-4; 2. Keaton Hagen won over Tyler Syring, 8-4; 3. Jose Chen downed Ean Clarke, 6-3; 4. Angel Chen defeated Isaiah Werner, 6-3; 5. Joe Harstad fell to Brandon Beyer, 6-1.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Hagen defeated Pringle/Syring, 8-4; 2. A. Chen/Harstad fell to Werner/Beyer, 6-3; 3. Aiden Boerger/Christian Peery lost to Will Lecy/Austin Canatsey, 6-4; 4. Keegan Wheeler/Benett Street won over Jackson Torgerson/Charlie Mudgett, 6-3.

Photo: Moritz Wortmann.