The Milbank Bulldog boys tennis team will battle in the state tournament in Rapid City May 19, through May 21. Competing for the locals will be Adam Thomas at number one singles and doubles, Riley Folk at number two singles and number one doubles, Mitch Quade at number three singles and number two doubles, Ethan Bohn at number four singles and number three doubles, Connor VanVooren at number five singles and number three doubles, and Chris Loutsch at number six singles and number two doubles. Noah Pillatzki will serve as an alternate for the team.
The varsity team closed out its regular season at the Madison Triangular Saturday, May 14. The Dawgs suffered two losses as they fell 7-2 to Madison and 9-0 to St. Thomas More.
“Doubles play was very competitive, but Madison was able to pull out all three matches,” said Milbank head tennis coach Jim Dahl. “Although we did not muster any wins over St. Thomas More, Mitch Quade and Connor VanVooren had a solid match in doubles. Their consistency was the best of the season for the duo. It’s just what you need to compete against top schools and I hope the team can carry that into the state tournament.”
Quade and Chris Loutsch secured singles victories over Madison and David Basilio won his exhibition match in straight sets. Noah Pillatzki had a win in exhibition play over St. Thomas More. “David and Noah did a nice job filling in for an ill teammate,” said Dahl. “It gave them a chance to improve their play and see what it takes to compete at that level.”
The junior varsity players wrapped up their season with a 9-0 loss to Watertown Monday, May 16, at Cantine Courts. Max McCulloch and David Basilio, playing number one doubles, led 6-5 early in the contest, but fell to Watertown in the last three games. “All our guys played hard and to the final point,” said Dahl. “These guys will put some off-season time in with league play, camp, and tournaments to boost their play and challenge for varsity spots next season.”
Following are the results from the last two matches of the regular season:
Milbank 2, Madison 7
Varsity Singles
1. Adam Thomas fell to Bryce Eimers, 10-5; 2. Noah Pillatzki lost to Mitch Hanson, 10-1; 3. Mitch Quade defeated Jerron DeJabet, 10-6; 4. Ethan Bohn dropped to Derek Biersbach, 10-3; 5. Connor VanVooren fell to Marcus VandeBosch, 10-0; 6. Chris Loutsch won over Blake Kennington, 10-4. Exhibition match – David Basilio defeated Jerron DeJabet, 10-1, 6-3.
Varsity Doubles
1. Thomas/Pillatzki fell to Eimers/Hanson, 10-5; 2. Quade/VanVooren lost to DeJabet/VandeBosch, 10-6; 3. Bohn/Loutsch dropped to Biersbach/Kennington, 10-5.
Milbank 0, St. Thomas More 9
Varsity Singles
1. Adam Thomas fell to Chase Thurness, 10-0; 2. David Basilio lost to Nick Lust, 10-0; 3. Mitch Quade dropped to Will Raymond, 10-1; 4. Ethan Bohn fell to Max Vetch, 10-0; 5. Connor VanVooren lost to Ben Freeman, 10-1; 6. Chris Loutsch dropped to Jake Berizna, 10-1. Exhibition matches – Noah Pillatzki fell to Jack Gibbon, 6-2; Noah Pillatzki defeated Andrew Josten, 6-3.
Varsity Doubles
1. Thomas/Basilio fell to Thurness/Lust, 10-1; 2. Quade/VanVooren lost to Raymond/Vetch, 11-9; 3. Bohn/Loutsch dropped to Freeman/Berizna, 10-1.
Milbank JV 0, Watertown JV 9
Singles
1. Max McCulloch fell to Jordan Urban, 8-2; 2. David Basilio lost to Jack Harrington, 8-2; 3.
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