Last Saturday was a great day of tennis for the Becker Bulldogs, as the team dominated in three matches, defeating Delano, Brainerd and STMA.

“It was a great first day of tennis and I was proud of how our kids adjusted,” Coach Hokan Bengtson said after the match.  “We had quite a few that were playing their first varsity tennis match, and we competed really well and got better today.”

Becker opened the day with a 6-1 rout of the Tigers, who should compete well in the Wright County Conference this season.

“The guys were ready to go and played well at all seven spots,” Bengtson said.

Zach Bengtson dominated in the #1 singles spot, earning a 6-3, 6-0 win, while Troy Nuest played #2 and won handily, 6-1, 6-0.

In the #3 and #4 spots, the Herdina brothers, Adler and Brock, took care of business, winning 6-2, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-4, respectively.

In doubles, the Sophomore duo of Landon Peterson and Sawyer Brown looked in mid-season form with a 6-0, 6-3 win in the #1 spot, followed by Garett Lane and Jon Drury picking up a 6-3, 6-1 win in the #2 match.

The Bulldogs then nailed the shutout against the Warriors, with the same singles and doubles competitors picking up wins, in addition to Carter Ager and Nathan Weiss in the #3 doubles match.

“The guys met the challenge in the second round, and I was impressed with the focus at two and three singles and one and two doubles,” Bengtson said.   “They only lost one game each the whole match.”

In the finale, Becker was challenged by a veteran team from a much larger school, STMA.

“This was our first tough test of the season, as STMA was ready to play and really gave us some great matches - especially at #1 Singles, and all the doubles,” Bengtson said.  “Landon and Sawyer won a great match at #1 doubles splitting sets and then winning the tiebreaker 11-9.  STMA is in Section 8AA so this was a great win for our team.”

Bengtson again claimed a win at #1 singles, 7-5, 6-2, while Nuest was dominant in the #2 hole, winning 6-0, 6-1.  Adler Herdina won by blanking his opponent 6-0 in both sets, while Brock Herdina was a 6-2, 6-0 winner.

M8 Opener

On Tuesday, the team opened conference play with a 7-0 win over St. Francis.

“Today was the best day of weather to play a match that we have had yet,” Bengtson said.  “The guys were locked in and ready to compete!”

Becker was dominant in the game, as both the sin