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Otters win 4-3 over BHS
Published 10:37am Wednesday, April 25, 2012Brainerd and Fergus Falls were tied 3-3 and Otter Ben Ronning was a man on an island, sort of like the survivor island, as he was in the third and final set carrying the teams’ fortune on his back in the last match of the day.
Everyone gathered around to watch his No. 3 singles match, and cheers and applause went up with each point by each player. But Ronning started blasting winners in that third set to pull ahead 4-2, lost the next game to go 4-3, then won the last two games going away for the set, his match, and the team victory.
He ended up with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 score. No. 1 David Schneck was in control all the way, he was the first player off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 victory. At No. 2 singles, Jesse Schneeberger ran into foreign exchange student Lenka Zelinska from Slovaki. Zelinska had powerful ground strokes from each side to pull out the match 6-4, 6-1. Jordan Schneeberger held down his accustomed No. 4 singles spot and started down 1-2 before winning the next five games to win the first set 6-2, then controlled the match in the second set in the victory.
The doubles matches were all close, with many games hanging on a point here or a point there. At first doubles, Matthew Jacobson and Jacob Fisher lost their first set in a close one 4-6, then succumbed to strong net play by Brainerd to lose the second set 1-6. At No. 2 doubles, Chris Rausch and Sam Vatnsdal had close games throughout, but Brainerd came up with the big points at the right time.
The same was true of the No. 3 doubles match, except the result was in the Otters’ favor. Sam Rausch and Jason Burns had numerous deuce games, but with both sets at 5-4 they were able to pull out the final ad point and win each set 6-4, 6-4.
The wins at first, third and fourth singles, and at three doubles gave the Otters the four points they needed for the victory.
“It’s always a close, tough match when we get together with Brainerd, and today was no exception,” commented Otter coach Josh Mohagen. “Ben Ronning really stepped up under pressure to win the clincher for us. He knew with everyone gathering around that it was the deciding match, and he embraced the pressure, demonstrating the leadership expected of an experienced team captain.”
Varsity Scoring Summary:
Fergus Falls 4, Brainerd 3
1 Singles – David Schneck (FF) 6-1, 6-1 over D.J. Kramer (B)
2 Singles – Lenka Zelinska (B) 6-4, 6-1 over Jesse Schneeberger (FF)
3 Singles – Ben Ronning (FF) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 over Bobby Posch (B)
4 Singles – Jordan Schneeberger (FF) 6-2, 6-2 over Luke Jacobsen (B)
1 Doubles – Gunnar Askegaard & Rens Fussy (B) 6-4, 6-1 over Matthew Jacobson & Jacob Fisher (FF)
2 Doubles – Trent Anderson & Jared Stearns (B) 6-3, 7-5 over Sam Vatnsdal & Chris Rausch (FF)
3 Doubles – Sam Rausch & Jason Burns (FF) 6-4, 6-4 over Parker Sundquist & Ben Anderholm
