It was a Conference Championship celebration Tuesday evening as the Becker boys tennis team downed Princeton 7-0 to finish undefeated in the Mississippi 8 Conference.  With the win, the Becker Bulldogs are the undisputed Mississippi 8 Conference Boys Tennis Champions for 2021.

“The match with Princeton went well, it was our final M8 match of the year,” Coach Hokan Bengtson said.  “We finished 7-0 and are conference champs!”

In singles play, Zach Bengtson continued his fine play in the #1 slot with a 6-2, 6-0 win, while Ryan Bengtson joined his younger bother in the singles bracket and picked up a shutout win in the #2 slot, 6-0, 6-0.  Luke Bordson and Troy Nuest also shut out their opponents with a pair of 6-0 wins to give Becker the clean sweep in the singles matches.

In the doubles matches it was more of the same for the Bulldogs, as Wyatt Hiltner and Eli Scheideman teamed up in the #1 match to defeat the top team from Princeton in a pair of 6-2 sets.

The 7th grade dynamic duo of Landon Peterson and Sawyer Brown scored the shutout win at #2, followed by a 6-0, 6-2 win by super Sophomores Bruce Kraemer and Nick Gruber in the #3 match.

Overall, Becker thoroughly dominated Mississippi 8 Conference play all year en route to the title.  Coach Bengtson and his squad now have their sights set on a strong performance in the Section tournament and they take their 14-2 overall record into some great competition as they prepare for the playoffs.

“The next week will be a great chance for us to get ready for our section playoff run,” Bengtson said.  “We have some great matches planned for the next week or two before section play begins.”

Over the next ten days, Becker will face some of the finest tennis programs from across Minnesota, including Foley, St. Cloud Tech, Duluth East and a regular season finale on May 14 against Alexandria.  

Bluejackets

Last Friday, the Bulldogs clobbered Cambridge-Isanti 7-0 behind strong play from the entire lineup.

“Our doubles teams cruised, only dropping 4 games total,” Bengtson said.  “Our top singles guys all showed great poise winning tough matches and securing the 7-0 team victory.”

Zach Bengtson showed great perseverance to pick up the win at #1 singles, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, while teammates Bordson (6-1, 7-5), Peterson (5-7, 6-2, 6-2) and Brown (6-0, 6-0) also picked up wins.

The #1 doubles team of Scheideman/Ryan Bengtson made quick work of their opponents, 6-0/6-1, while Hiltner and Gruber were also on their game, winning 6-1, 6-2.  Bruce Kraemer and Max Haugen were dominant at #3 singles, blanking their opponents 6-0 in both sets to seal the 7-0 win.

Tornadoes

Monday, Bengtson’s team traveled to Anoka and came away with a 5-2 win over the Tornadoes.

“There were some great matches all over the courts tonight,” said Bengtson.  “Numbers 1 and 4 singles were really close — along with all of the doubles — but our kids kept fighting and staying focused despite the blustery winds.”  

Ryan Bengtson picked up the 6-0, 6-1 win at #2 singles for the Bulldogs, while Luke Bordson was consistent with a 6-2, 6-2 win at #3.

Becker swept the doubles matches, as Peterson teamed up with Scheideman to win 6-4, 7-5 at #1, while Brown and Hiltner came from behind to win at #2 with scores of 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

In the final doubles match, Bengtson credited Bruce Kraemer and Nick Gruber with a concerted effort in their 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win.

“Kraemer and Gruber played a marathon match that lasted 3 hours — they came away with a great win!” Bengtson said.