Comebacks fuel Albert Lea boys’ tennis team’s win over John Marshall

Published 6:05 am Monday, April 20, 2015

Rallies at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles propelled the Albert Lea boys’ tennis team to its fourth win of the season.

The Tigers (4-4, 3-4 Big Nine) beat Rochester John Marshall 5-2 and lost 5-2 against Northfield Saturday during a triangular at Northfield.

Against the Scarlets, Schafer Overgaard trailed 4-8 at No. 3 singles in the super tiebreaker but fought back to win 11-9, and Garrett Matz and Foster Otten won 7-5 at No. 1 doubles after trailing 5-0, said Albert Lea coach Tom Dyrdal.

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“We had two impressive comebacks,” he said. “This was a huge win for us.”

A forfeit by Rochester John Marshall at No. 4 singles split singles matches down the middle.

Despite a 6-4, 6-1 loss at No. 1 singles by Taylor Herfindahl, Dyrdal said Herfindahl played one of his best matches of the season against a top player in the conference.

Rochester John Marshall forfeited the No. 4 singles match, and the Tigers swept doubles.

In addition to Matz and Otten’s victory, Andy Woitas and Austin Dulitz won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 and Nikk Christianson and Grant Herfindahl won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3.

Against Northfield, Albert Lea won matches at No. 1 and 2 doubles. An 11-9 win in the super tiebreaker pushed Matz and Otten over the Raiders at No. 1, and Woitas and Dulitz won 10-8 in a super tiebreaker at No. 2.

“After a tough match against J.M., we ran out of steam a bit,” Dyrdal said. “Northfield has a quality team, and they played very well.”

Next, Albert Lea will host Red Wing at 4 p.m. today. The match was rescheduled from April 7.