The Crookston Pirates Boys tennis team lost to Bemidji 6-1, lost to East Grand Forks 5-2, and lost 7-0 to Thief River Falls in the Northwest Quad in Thief River Falls.
CROOKSTON VS BEMIDJI
Crookston started the day with a tough draw as they took on a very good Bemidji team and lost 6-1. “They are a tough team and very deep,” said Pirate Coach Cody Brekken. “They are one of the favorites in their section this year. It was a tough one all-around for us and the kids played hard, but they ran into a very good team.”
Crookston’s lone win came at fourth singles with Nathan Kelly winning in three sets. Kelly lost the first set 6-2, but bounced back to win 6-2 and 10-8 to win the match. “Nathan Kelly won his first varsity match and he was also playing singles for the first time,” said Coach Brekken. “That was a long match for him and it was the last one on the court and fun to see him get the win. The tie-breaker was tied 3-3, 6-6, and it was tight. It was a nice win.”
| CROOKSTON-1 | Bemidji-6 | Win | Score | |
| 1st S | Jack Garmen | Filippo Baffo | BEM | 6-0, 6-0 |
| 2nd | Mason Owens | Noah Johnson | BEM | 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3rd | Reggie Winjum | Max Harris | BEM | 6-1, 6-0 |
| 4th | Nathan Kelly | Isaiah Ceizven | Crox | 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 |
| 1st Dubs | Jack Garmen Erik Coauette |
Micheal Dickinson John McNallan |
BEM | 6-0, 6-1 |
| 2nd | Isaac Thomforde Joey Brule |
Logan Jensen Casey Rupp |
BEM | 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3rd | Xander Kuchan Kaleb Armstrong |
Jacob Fohrman Jack McNallan |
BEM | 6-0, 6-3 |
CROOKSTON VS EGF
Crookston lost to the East Grand Forks Green Wave 5-2 in the second match of the day. “We lost to them 4-3 the other day so they were able to get one more today, but we will play them again and we are confident we can get a win against them,” said Coach Brekken. “There are a few points here and there that I wish we could have got back.”
Jack Garmen picked up a win at first singles with a three-set win. He won the first set 6-4, lost the second set 6-4 before winning the third set 12-10. “Jack came up big to start first singles for us and get things started in the right direction,” said Coach Brekken. “He was able to pull away in a tough tiebreak.”
The third doubles team of Xander Kuchan and Kaleb Armstrong also won their match in another three-set victory. They lost the first set 7-5 before bouncing back to win the next two sets by 6-4 and 10-4 scores. “They did a nice job of bouncing back and continued to play well and get the win,” said Coach Brekken. “We are still trying to figure out our lineups and it can be hard going from singles to doubles when you are trying to get a good vibe with your teammate, but they are handling it well.”
| CROOKSTON-2 | EGF-5 | Win | Score | |
| 1st S | Jack Garmen | Tanner Lubinski | Crox | 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 |
| 2nd | Erik Coauette | Cole Gerber | EGF | 6-2, 6-4 |
| 3rd | Evan Christensen | Jude Johnson | EGF | 6-3, 6-2 |
| 4th | Mason Owens | Carson Knutson | EGF | 6-1, 6-2 |
| 1st Dubs | Isaac Thomforde Joey Brule |
Seth Aaker Adam Johnson |
EGF | 6-0, 6-1 |
| 2nd | Nathan Kelly Reggie Winjum |
Tate Fridgen Thomas McMahor |
EGF | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 3rd | Xander Kuchan Kaleb Armstrong |
Tate Steenerson Trey O’reilly |
Crox | 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 |
CROOKSTON VS THIEF RIVER FALLS
Crookston lost two three-set matches and those were the only two matches that were close as the Thief River Falls Prowlers came away with a 7-0 victory. “This was a tough one for us. Thief River is a really good team,” said Brekken. “This is one where you go in and you try to figure out the pace and style that some of the better players play with. Some go quick and play at the net and some play a little slower… it gives us a good opportunity to learn from a program that has some established success.”
The Pirates drop to 0-11 on the year and will travel to Moorhead on Saturday to take on Minnewaska Area and Benson at 11:00 am and 1:30 pm.
