Boys tennis: Irish back to .500 mark

Talk about it

The inclement spring weather has been affecting all spring sports teams throughout the state.

Most coaches aren’t being introduced to a new team, though. Rosemount boys tennis coach Dana Beck has the unenviable task of trying to acclimate to her new team while the Irish acclimate to the weather.

“Our schedule will be very packed the next few weeks due to the poor weather and lots of cancellations,” Beck said.

With three matches the past week, the Irish went 1-2 as a team. They are 2-2 this season.

Rosemount lost 6-1 to Eastview and added a match against East Ridge last week. With the postponements and cancellations, Beck and the Irish did what they could to add another match to the schedule.

A 5-2 win against East Ridge will help in the section seeding. Rosemount lost 5-2 to Burnsville on Monday.

A week earlier, Beck was looking forward to her team getting more exposure to competition.

“I am confident with some more court time, match time and sunshine, we will improve our level of play,” Beck said after the loss to Eastview.

Matt and Blake Sowokinos earned the Irish’s lone point against Eastview, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.

“Eastview is a very tough team and I thought we played very well for this being our second match in conference play for the season,” Beck said.

The Irish swept through singles play against East Ridge. Matt Baker won 6-0, 6-1 at first singles. Will Holcomb won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles and Stuart Hatlen earned a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win at third singles. Rosemount had a default win at No. 4 singles.

Matt and Blake Sowokinos added another win 6-3, 6-1 at third doubles.

“Very glad to get another match completed,” Beck said. “I am still working on the doubles lineup and finding the best pairings of partners for doubles teams who are in sync with each other on the court and are aggressive with their net play.”

Holcomb won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles against Burnsville on Monday.

Matt and Blake Sowokinos won again, taking a 6-3, 6-1 match against the Blaze. But this time they earned their victory at second doubles.

“I knew their one singles was solid, but I thought we had a better chance at winning the lower positions,” Beck said. “I don’t think we played our best and it shows in the outcome of the match score.”

The schedule has changed dramatically and Rosemount is scheduled to face Lakeville South today and Coon Rapids tomorrow.

The Eagan match has been rescheduled for May 12.

Tags: sports, rosemount, irish, prep, tennis