Huskies win 21 straight matches
Owatonna No. 1 singles player Mac Pilcher extends for a backhand shot against Lakeville South. Pilcher won his match with two perfect 6-0 sets. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna boys tennis dominated the Mankato East, Lakeville South and Albert Lea last week by outscoring their opponents 21-0 in match play.
After starting the first week 2-0 overall, the Huskies have now propelled themselves to 4-0 and sit second in conference play at 2-0.
“Sometimes it takes a little while for players and teams to play up to their talent level, but I feel like we’ve done a good job of that early this season. We still have many tough conference and non-conference opponents left on the schedule, but we are definitely encouraged with how we have started the season,” said Owatonna head coach Curt Matejcek.
Finishing out the week for Owatonna was a 7-0 home win over Mankato East where the Huskies outscored the Cougars 84-27 in games.
With the win, Matjecek earned his 275th win at the helm of Owatonna’s boys’ tennis program.
Thomas Herzog was the team’s best performer on the day and finished with a near flawless 6-0, 6-1 win over his No. 2 singles opponent, Ethan Young.
Earlier in the week, Owatonna again won 7-0 in a beatdown over Lakeville South.
No. 1 singles player Mac Pilcher was the team’s lone athlete to keep Lakeville South off the scoresheets by securing a 6-0, 6-0 win.
Owatonna’s first 7-0 win of the week came against conference opponent Albert Lea.
The Tigers stood no chance against the Huskies in this matchup and were outscored a perfect 84-0 across all 14 sets.
The Huskies’ early season momentum has put the team in an advantageous spot early on, but Matejcek knows there is a long way to go.
According to the Huskies’ head coach, the team has looked great to start the season; however, tough matchups with some of the conference’s top teams lie ahead, meaning the team will have its hands full if it wants to keep its spot among the Big Nine’s elite.
Owatonna traveled to Farmington Monday, April 17, and hosted Rochester Mayo on Tuesday, April 18. Stats and results from the matches were not made available at the time of press.
The Huskies will face Big Nine Conference opponents Austin and Faribault next, with the Packers hosting the triangular at Austin High School on Saturday, April 22 at 9 a.m.