Spartans end Raiders’ tennis season again

A very good season for the Hastings girls tennis team came to an end last week during the sub-section tournament.

The Raiders had been eliminated from team play the previous week by Rochester Mayo.

In the sub-section individual tournament, Mayo again spoiled the party for the Raiders. Getting placed into the sub-section tournament with Mayo is anything but good news for section opponents. The Spartans have one of the top programs in the state.

“That’s the second straight year we’ve been in their sub-section,” Hastings coach Craig Raway said. “That’s a tough draw. It doesn’t make it easy, that’s for sure.”

Hastings’ top singles player, Lindsey Reinisch, received a first-round bye. In the second round, she lost to a Mayo opponent and her season was over.

The No. 2 singles player for Hastings, Morgan Tjomsland, played an opponent from Austin and won her first-round match.

In the second round, Tjomsland lost to a strong Mayo player, 6-2, 6-2.

“That was a good result for her,” Raway said. “She had some good shots and kept her opponent out there for a while.”

In doubles, the No. 1 team of Shanna Burgmeier and Kirsten Peterson got a first-round bye.

In the second round they fell to opponents from Mayo.

The No. 2 doubles team of Erika Nielsen and Ashley Addison won their first-round match against Austin opponents before losing in the second round to a team from Mayo.

Hastings had high hopes for the season, with a number of returning athletes. The Raiders had a strong season, but Raway can’t help but think back to a couple close losses. Still, the season was a good one, he said.

“We knew we’d have a pretty strong team coming back after last year,” Raway said. “They tried as hard as they could. You can’t blame any of our losses this year on a lack of effort. Some teams just came out and beat us.”

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