GARMEN BROTHERS FINISH 2ND AND ADVANCE TO STATE, FEE/WARDNER TAKE 3RD PLACE

The Crookston Pirate Boy’s Tennis team’s Nick and Jack Garmen finished second place and advance to state while Blake Fee and Logan Wardner placed third at the Section 8A Boy’s Individual Tennis Tournament in Detroit Lakes.

SEMI-FINALS-
The Crookston doubles teams were playing each other and the first set was tied at 2-2 when it started to rain.  All four wins came when each team was serving.  All four semi-final matches were stopped because the courts were slippery.  The delay lasted about 15 minutes and the matches resumed.
When the matches resumed, they exchanged games and were tied at 3-3 with the team serving winning every point in the match.  Serve was finally broke when Fee and Wardner won the next game to take a 4-3 lead, but the Garmens bounced back to when the next two sets to take a 5-4 lead.  Fee and Wardner served their way to a win to tie the set at 5-5.  Fee and Wardner won the next two games to win the first set 7-5.  “It was great play back and forth with a lot of great points,” said Pirate Coach Cody Brekken. “There was a lot of deuces and Blake and Logan were able to get the first set.”
In the second set, the Garmen brothers won the first three games to take a 3-0 lead.  Fee and Wardner won four of the next five games to tie the set at 4-4 as the back and forth battle continued.  Nick and Jack Garmen bounced back and served their way to a victory in the next game to take a 5-4 lead.  Fee and Wardner had the serve and won the game 40-30 to tie the set at 5-5.  The next set went to deuce and Fee and Wardner had back-to-back points to win the game and take a 6-5 lead in the set.  Nick and Jack won the next game to tie the set at 6-6, forcing a tie-breaker.  In the tie-breaker, Nick and Jack won 7-4 to win the second set 7-6 (7-4) to force a third and final spot.  “Whoever jumps ahead early in the tie-breaker seems to have the momentum and that was the case today,” said Coach Brekken. “Nick and Jack finished strong and were able to tie it up.”
In the third set, Fee and Wardner started with the serve and they won the game in deuce for a 1-0 lead.  The next game went to deuce again and the Garmens won the game to tie the set at 1-1.  The third game went to deuce and the Garmens won again to take a 2-1 lead.  The fourth game also went to deuce. This time Fee and Wardner won the game to tie the set at 2-2.  Nick and Jack broke serve and won the next four games to win the set 6-2 and win the match 2-1.
“It was one of the best doubles matches I have seen this year and the intensity got stronger as the match went along.  It was good to see both teams play their best,” said Coach Brekken. “I saw some 15 to 20 shot rallies, there weren’t as many mistakes.  Both teams were playing hard and they both played a great match and we let them play and compete.”

CHAMPIONSHIP/3RD PLACE MATCHES
Nick and Jack Garmen played Noah Rupprecht and Tucker Skime of Thief River Falls in the championship.  Thief River Falls took a 2-1 lead and added three more games for a 5-1 lead in the first set.  Nick and Jack bounced back with a win to get within a 5-2 deficit, but Thief River Falls won the next game and won the set 6-2.
In the second set, Nick and Jack trailed 2-1 before they won four straight games to take a 5-2 lead.  Thief River Falls battled back to get within a 5-4 deficit, but the Garmens answered with the next game to win the set 6-4, forcing a third set for their second straight match.
In the third set, Thief River Falls played a great set and won the set 6-1 to win the championship.  Nick and Jack finished second place and advance to the Minnesota State High School League State Tennis Individual tournament in June.  “Thief River Falls had two very good and consistent players and it looked like Nick and Jack might have run out of gas in the third set,” said Coach Brekken. “Nick and Jack played a great second set to force the third set.  It will be good for Nick to get to go to state after a third-place finish last year and fourth place as a sophomore.  It is pretty rare to have two brothers make it to state, so that is pretty neat.”

Blake Fee and Logan Wardner bounced back to play Trey Seebold and Gabe Hanninen of Detroit Lakes in the third-place match.  Fee and Wardner took a 4-1 lead in the first set before Detroit Lakes answered with a couple of wins to get within a 4-3 deficit.  Fee and Wardner answered by winning the next two points to win the set 6-3.
In the second set, Fee and Wardner trailed 3-2 before they won the next two games for a 4-3 lead.  The Crookston duo won two of the next three games to win the set 6-4 and the match.  Fee and Wardner finished third place and end their Pirate athletic career with a win.  “They played well and the hardest thing to do is to be able to keep your head straight after a tough loss and they did that and played a great match,” said Coach Brekken. “They played loose, they were ending points quick.  Logan and Blake played their best tennis at the end of the year and wrapped up a great career and they have had medals the last three years and not many people can say that.”