Park boys tennis: Wolfpack finishes regular season 7-9

Park finished its season with an “almost.”

After falling on the unlucky side of many close matches, the Wolfpack boys tennis team ended with a 7-9 overall record, one game away from a .500 season. The past week saw a convincing victory against St. Paul Johnson but also tough losses to Suburban East Conference opponents White Bear Lake and Cretin-Derham Hall.

The Wolfpack received the eleventh seed in the 14-team section and played its first round of sections at sixth seed Eastview on Tuesday after the Bulletin went to press.

Mental toughness and superior skill helped Park boys tennis defeat St. Paul Johnson on May 9. According to coach Tony Townsend, the team dominated in singles and doubles, and Park consistently closed out points for a 7-0 team win.

However, the Wolfpack couldn’t sustain their competitive edge throughout the week. The team lost 5-2 to White Bear Lake on May 12. Sophomore Pele Le picked up a win at fourth singles, as did senior Alex Rachner and junior Lucas Lindstrom at No. 1 doubles.

“I thought Alex and Lucas played their most solid match of the season,” said Townsend.

Although Park played without one of their top players, they kept the matches tight.

“Mekdim DeJene lost a three-set match at one singles and we lost close matches and two and three doubles,” Townsend said.

Park saw another difficult conference opponent the next day, losing 6-1 to Cretin. DeJene pulled out the only Park victory of the day. Rebounding from his previous loss, DeJene won 7-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles. Townsend saw close matches from Le at fourth singles and junior David Link and sophomore Sam Forthun at No. 2 doubles.

“We had a difficult time closing out games during this match. I was proud of our effort, and we will continue to work hard and prepare ourselves for sections,” said Townsend.

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