Freshmen step up for Austin tennis team
Published 11:00 pm Friday, May 11, 2012
Austin's Carter Steichen hammers home a spike during his match against Rochester John Marshall in Paulson Courts Friday. -- Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
The Packer boys tennis team showed a good glimpse of their future as its six freshman all contributed to wins in their matches as Austin beat Rochester John Marshall 4-3 in its regular season finale at Paulson Courts Friday.
The biggest win for Austin (5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Nine) came at No. 3 doubles, where freshmen Levi Vierkandt and Carter Steichen had to hold off Sid Desai and Rahul Mukherljee 7-5, 6-4 to clinch Austin’s win.
“It was huge for them to win that match and it was big for us to pick up a win,” Austin head coach Tommy Tauchnitz said. “It was a great experience for our younger guys and that’s promising for the future.”
Austin's Levi Vierkandt makes a play on the ball during his doubles match against Rochester John Marshall at Paulson Tennis Courts Friday. -- Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Freshmen Colton Detwiler and Jeremy Olmsted picked up singles wins and Austin’s No. 2 doubles team of freshmen Seth Hebrink and Noah Brehmer won with ease 6-2, 6-2.
“It’s fun when we get a chance to compete and win like this,” Brehmer said. “I think when we’re seniors, we’ll be able to compete with the better teams (in the conference).”
Hebrink said he’s enjoyed playing on the varsity team as a freshman and he hasn’t been intimidated while playing against older players most of the season.
“I think it’s helped us a lot. We’ve improved in volleys, serves and everything all around,” Hebrink said. “You just can’t go into the match thinking you’re going to lose. You could always have a big upset.”
Brehmer said he enjoyed playing on varsity this season as well, although he admitted the Rochester Century and Rochester Mayo matches were a little tough.
“It’s a little demoralizing knowing when you go into the match knowing you’re not going to have a chance,” Brehmer said. “But you’ve got to go out and try your best against the good teams.”
SINGLES
No. 1 Jason Howard (JM) def. Pat Wagner (A) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Abhi Lamba (JM) def. Bob Sherman (A) 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Colton Detwiler (A) def. Chris Kotschevar (JM) 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 Jeremy Olmsted (A) def. Alex Dahl (JM) 6-1, 6-1
DOUBLES
No. 1 Colin Jacobs and Murali Sachchit (JM) def. Nick Brehmer and Ethan Larson (A) 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Seth Hebrink and Noah Brehmer (A) def. Ryan Moger and Alex Cheng (JM) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Levi Vierkandt and Carter Steichen (A) def. Sid Desai and Rahul Mukherjee (JM) 7-5, 6-4
