Fromstaff reports

The Austin boys’ tennis team was shutout 7-0 by Blue Earth on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 12, 2000

The Austin boys’ tennis team was shutout 7-0 by Blue Earth on Tuesday.

Austin couldn’t overcome the loss of two members of the starting lineup, Sam Drong and Mark Jacobson.

"We had to juggle our line up around," Austin coach Deb Hoyt said. "That really hurt us."

Riverland tennis

The Riverland men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Mankato Tuesday and came home with wins over Bethany Lutheran.

The men had an easy time, winning 9-0, while the women won in dramatic fashion, winning the last two singles matches on the courts for a 5-4 triumph. Both teams improve to 2-0 on the season. On Thursday, the two teams play at Martin Luther.

The Riverland men swept the singles with six straight set victories, dropping a total of just 14 games. The winners, one-through six, were Zak Ulwelling, Jeremy Peterson, Josh Bendickson, Jake Greenman, Beau Hartman, and Shane Fett. The three doubles were eight game pro sets. At No. 1, Ulwelling and Greenman won 8-0 as did No. 2 team of Peterson and Bendickson. The No. 3 team won of Hartman and Jeremy Jones won 8-3.

"We played really well," Riverland coach Suzy Hebrink said. "We played solid tennis with the hardest competition coming from the wind and the cold."

The women were up 2-1 after the doubles competition with Allison Stier and Anne Hackbarth winning 8-6 at No. 2 doubles and Rachael Burzinski and Brooke Holets winning 8-5 at No. 3.

At No. 1 singles, Renae Bebler played against her high school doubles partner Elizabeth Hanson. Neither player wanted to lose and it went to a third set tie break with Hanson coming out on top. 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5).

After four singles matches were completed the Blue Devils were down 4-3. The lone win coming from Brooke Holets at No. 6, 6-2, 6-1. Stier at No. 3 and Burzinski at No. 5 were still on the court after splitting sets. Stier came back from an 0-6 opening set loss to win 7-5, 6-4. Meanwhile Burzinski lost a first set tie break 7-5 and then came on to win the second set 6-4. It was getting late so the team match was decided by a tie break instead of a third set with Burzinski winning it 7-4.

"It came down to the wire," Hebrink said. "Stier’s match was tied 4-4 in the third when Bebler came off while Burzinski’s match was heading into the tie break."

State wrestlers shine

Eighth grader T.J. Parlin led Austin Youth Wrestling’s state performers last weekend at the NYWA state meet held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

Parlin won his third state title. Sixth grader Dan Rysavy placed third. Fellow sixth grader Dave Cunningham earned sixth.

Fifth grader Mike Frost got a second place and his seventh-grader brother Robbie picked up a seventh. Marcus Ball (2-2 at state) and Matt Edgar (1-2) didn’t place.