Boys Tennis Faces Tough Opponents

The Milbank Bulldog boys tennis team suffered three losses in action against top competition. Milbank fell to Sioux Falls Lincoln and Brandon Valley on April 20, and was defeated by Lac Qui Parle Valley, Minnesota, on April 21.

Milbank fell 9-0 to both SF Lincoln and Brandon Valley. “They have very solid teams,” stated Bulldog head coach Jim Dahl. “Lincoln is rated number one and Brandon Valley is in the top six.”

Dahl explained the goal of the Bulldog team was to raise their level of play to sustain rallies and win more points and games. “I felt the players executed that plan very well.”

Ethan Bohn and Nathan Loutsch, number three doubles, led Lincoln 3-2 in the first set. “That was a tough order, so to see them at that stage early on was encouraging,” said Dahl. “Even though we won no more than three games in any set on the day, all our guys had positively played points, did not hang their heads, and played both matches with courage, character, and grit.”

Milbank faced LQPV Friday and fell 6-1. “They have a decent team with four seniors and two juniors,” said Dahl. “Our guys battled.”

David Basilio earned the lone win for the Bulldogs in straight sets. “He did a nice job of being consistent within a higher level of play,” Dahl stated. “His decision-making during key points allowed him to overcome a very good opponent.”
Bohn and Caden Ebsen started out with a 5-3 advantage at the number one doubles position, but eventually took the loss. “They were looking consistent with strong pace, but credit to LQPV for stepping up their level.”

Complete results from all three matches:
Milbank 0, Sioux Falls Lincoln 9
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren fell to Kaleb Dobbs, 6-0, 6-0; 2. Moritz Wortmann lost to Sam Dobbs, 6-0, 6-0; 3. David Basilio dropped to Aiden DeBoer, 6-0, 6-1; 4. Marcos Basilio fell to Arjun Choudry, 6-0, 6-0; 5. Nathan Loutsch lost to Graham Leonard, 6-0, 6-0; 6. Ethan Bohn dropped to Rahul Giri, 6-0, 6-0. Exhibition matches – Keaton Hagen fell to Akshay Choudry, 6-1, 6-0. Caden Ebsen dropped to Gage Gohl, 6-1, 6-0.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Wortmann fell to Dobbs/Dobbs, 6-0, 6-1; 2. Basilio/Basilio lost to DeBoer/Choudry, 6-0, 6-0; 3. Loutsch/Bohn dropped to Leonard/Akshay Choudry, 6-3, 6-1. Exhibition match – Hagen/Ebsen fell to Giri/Gohl, 6-0, 6-1.
Milbank 0, Brandon Valley 9
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren fell to Matthew Schmitz, 6-0, 6-0; 2. Moritz Wortmann lost to Carson Mork, 6-1, 6-1; 3. David Basilio dropped to Mason Blue, 6-0, 6-2; 4. Marcos Basilio fell to Braden Roegiers, 6-1, 6-1; 5. Nathan Loutsch lost to Jack Talcott, 6-1, 6-0; 6. Ethan Bohn dropped to Jacob Frantzen, 6-0, 6-0. Exhibition matches – Keaton Hagen fell to Evan Talcott, 6-1, 6-0. Caden Ebsen lost to Dayton Johnson, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles
1. VanVooren/Wortmann fell to Schmitz/Blue, 6-0, 6-0; 2. Basilio/Basilio lost to Roegiers/Talcott, 6-1, 6-2; 3. Loutsch/Bohn dropped to Mork/E. Talcott, 6-0, 6-1. Exhibition match – Hagen/Ebsen fell to Frantzen/Johnson, 6-1, 6-0.
Milbank 1, LQPV, MN 6
Singles
1. Connor VanVooren fell to Eli Weber, 6-1, 6-0; 2. Moritz Wortmann lost to Ryan Borstad, 6-0, 6-2; 3. David Basilio defeated Trevor Sigdahl, 6-4, 6-4; 4. Marcos Basilio dropped to Cody McKesson, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles
1. Ethan Bohn/Caden Ebsen fell to Conrad Matthies/Blake Buer, 7-6 (1), 6-1; 2. Jose Chen/Angel Chen lost to Gavin Olson/Jeraco Parsa, 6-1, 6-2; 3. Joe Harstad/Keegan Wheeler dropped to Jake Lee/Josh Anyasike, 6-0, 6-0.
Junior Varsity
Joe Harstad/Bennett Street fell to Colton Husby/Nic Pharr, 8-1; Aiden Boerger/Christian Peery dropped to Heath Buer/Thomas Frank, 8-1.

Pictured Caden Ebsen.