Bulldogs Battle At State Tennis Tournament

The Milbank Bulldogs battled for wins during the state tennis tournament this past weekend, but came up empty despite a valiant effort.

“It was a rough few days for our team in the sense of getting shut out, but the effort was there,” explained head tennis coach Jim Dahl. “It was frustrating for the team not to get on the board with a few wins. Our draws were difficult, but we went into the tournament with a positive outlook and goals to do our best and let the scorecard take care of itself. We had a few close sets, but for the most part just could not form any momentum. It was a good experience for the team to run into several opponents we had not seen during the regular season.”

Coach Dahl thanked the lone senior on the team, Chris Loutsch, for his four seasons of dedication to the MHS tennis team. “With the rest of the guys back next year and quality time on the courts during the off-season, we look to be much improved.”

Dahl also would like to thank all the parents for their support this season. “Thank you to the parents that were able to be at state to support the team and helped with moving players from court sites and the hotel.”

Sioux Falls Lincoln captured the team title for the third consecutive year. Sioux Falls O’Gorman was the runner-up while Mitchell was third, Rapid City Stevens, fourth, and Sioux Falls Washington, fifth.

Following are the results for the Milbank players:

Singles

#1 – Adam Thomas fell to Gauger of Watertown, 1-6, 1-6; lost to Schmitz of Brandon Valley, 0-10.

#2 – Riley Folk fell to List of Yankton, 2-6, 1-6; lost to Sterrett of Huron, 1-10.

#3 – Mitch Quade dropped to Segrist of Rapid City Central, 5-7, 3-6; fell to Grove of Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 2-10.

#4 – Ethan Bohn fell to Morgans of Sioux Falls Washington, 0-6, 0-6; dropped to Hellwig of Aberdeen Roncalli, 0-10.

#5 – Connor VanVooren fell to McElroy of Sioux Falls Christian; lost to Freeman of St. Thomas More, 3-10.

#6 – Chris Loutsch dropped to Dosch of Rapid City Central, 0-6, 6-7(2); fell to Bruket of Spearfish, 1-10.

Doubles

#1 – Thomas/Folk fell to Dobbs/Dobbs of Brookings, 1-6, 1-6; dropped to Schultz/Guymon of Rapid City Stevens, 3-10.

#2 – Quade/VanVooren lost to Aukes/Scott of Sioux Falls Christian, 3-6, 0-6; fell to Dykstra/Mooney, Yankton, 2-10.

#3 – Loutsch/Bohn fell to Bader/Hartze of Aberdeen Central, 1-6, 1-6; dropped to Barkema/Clapper of Sioux Falls Christian, 1-10.

*Photo courtesy of SDPB.