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ROCHESTER — Make it three straight Section 1, Class 1A boys singles tennis championships for Lourdes senior Evan Ritter.
And make him the favorite to win the state championship next week (June 4-5) at Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
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Ritter keeps growing into the game and he did again Tuesday in knocking off Schaeffer Academy’s Hudson Zimmerman 6-4, 6-4 in the section championship at Rochester Athletic Club.
“I think winning this last section championship was crucial because it’s my last season, my senior year, so I really didn’t want to lose in the section final,” Ritter said “Especially because I did not want to get upset considering I was the No. 1 seed. I wanted to just make sure I played my game and didn’t worry about it.”
It is an all-around game that Ritter plays with, including owning a big serve and a big forehand. In that sense he is just like Zimmerman, who also goes big with both of those strokes.
The difference between them Tuesday was consistency. Ritter, though he wasn’t at his consistent best against Zimmerman, outdid him in that department.
Power against power made for a good matchup.
“I like playing (Zimmerman) because he makes me play,” Ritter said. “Usually I like to play more of an offensive game, but today I had to play a lot of defense (against Zimmerman’s big shots). Zimmerman is pretty offensive and he does a lot of things well.”
That Ritter can take a little bit off of his game when defense is required, speaks to how he has continued to improve.
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Ritter knows he’s better than last year when he finished second overall in the state tournament.
“I’m probably slightly quicker, but I feel like the main part of my game that has improved is just my mentality for shot selection,” Ritter said. “I feel like I’ve been making a lot more safe choices, like recognizing that my opponent doesn’t like it if I spin it to his backhand. So then I’m going to spin it to his backhand a lot of times when I need a point. Just stuff like that. To use it, even though it’s not my favorite shot to use at the time.”
Ritter is betting on himself to win next week’s state singles tournament. It’s something he covets, a state championship.
“I love tennis and I love chasing that first place,” Ritter said. “I want to get it.”
The Section 1-1A doubles championship promised to be a doozy. History said so.
The combination of Winona Cotter’s Logan Granseth and Hamilton Brewer met Lourdes’ duo of Andy Fink and Joe Palen.
They also met in the section title match last year, it turning into a three-hour marathon before Granseth and Brewer emerged as champions.
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Then they met again a year ago for third place at state, Fink and Palen winning that one.
Tuesday’s action looked like it was going to turn into another marathon. After Granseth/Brewer won the first set 6-3, Fink and Palen made a gallant comeback in the second set. They led 4-1 at one point, 5-2 at another. The Lourdes combination three times was serving for the set, only to have Granseth and Brewer continue to hold them off and ultimately won the set 7-5.
That Cotter was able to come back after trailing 5-2, Granseth gave much of the credit to their coach, the Ramblers’ Jeff Besek.
“Our coach really put some spirit back into us,” Granseth said. “After we lost those first couple of games (in the second set) we weren’t as confident. But Hamilton and I started just playing better and then we were working together as a team. And our teammates who came with us, they helped us a lot just by cheering and kept us motivated the whole time.”
As spirited and inspired as Granseth/Brewer’s bounce back was, Lourdes senior Fink couldn’t help but put some blame on himself and Palen.
“To be honest, we just missed on the most crucial points,” Fink said. “There was a double fault and then a missed overhead by me. We just had too many misses here and there. And those misses cost us the big points and the match.”
Granseth said the key to their late second-set turnaround was just getting themselves to relax. They viewed the match as an obviously rivalry one and it took a while to get comfortable.
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“I’d say the key was just relaxing, letting the nerves go and playing with spirit,” said Granseth, who perfectly placed some lazered shots down the line for winners down the stretch. “My speciality is just hustling all over the court and getting to balls. That’s my favorite thing. Hamilton’s serving was on point today, and he just had really good strokes. He brought me up as a teammate.”
Who knows, this foursome might meet again before the season is over, the next time in the state tournament.
If it comes to pass, the Cotter combination knows they’ll have their work cut out all over again.
“Joe (Palen’s) volleys are phenomenal and Andy’s serves set up Joe’s volleys,” Granseth said. “They have really good chemistry, so props to them.”
Singles
Semifinals
• At Rochester Athletic Club
Semifinas: Evan Ritter (Lourdes) def. Everett Engler (Winona Cotter) 6-0 6-1; Hudson Zimmerman (Schaeffer) def. Henry Huttemier (Waseca) 6-4, 6-0. Championship: Evan Ritter (Lourdes) def. Hudson Zimmerman (Schaeffer) 6-4, 6-4. Third pace: Everett Engler (Winona Cotter) def. Henry Huttemier (Waseca). True-second place: Hudson Zimmerman (Schaeffer) def. Everett Engler (Winona Cotter) 6-1, 7-5.
Doubles
Semifinals
• at Rochester Athletic Club.
Semifinals: Hamilton Brewer/Logan Granseth (Winona Cotter) def. Easton Ackley/Bobby Fitzgerald. 6-3, 7-5; Andy Fink/Joe Palen (Lourdes) def. Bo Doyle/Austin Hofself (Red Wing) 6-2, 6-1. Championship: Brewer/Granseth (Winona Cotter) de. Fink/Palen 6-2, 7-5. Third place: Ackley/Fitzgerald (Lourdes) def. Doyle/Hosfeld (Red Wing) 6-4, 6-4. True-second place: Andy Fink/Joe Palen (Lourdes) def. Easton Ackley/Bobby Fitzgerald 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
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