Dodgers win district title
Rasmussen, Knight, Bowser qualify
POSTED: May 9, 2008
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Singles — Brian Rasmussen, FD, def. Kent Henderson, Carroll Kuemper, 6-1, 6-3; Rasmussen, FD, def. Dane Larson, Sioux City East, 6-2, 6-1; Austin Grundy, Sioux City North, def. Rasmussen, FD, 6-0, 6-0; Zane Hendricks, FD, def. Collin Nimmo, CK, 6-1, 6-1; Hendricks, def. Matt Behrens, CK, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Grundy, SCN, def. Hendricks, FD, 6-0, 6-0; Hendricks, FD, def. Dane Larson, SCE, 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles — David Knight/Stephen Bowser, FD, def. Collin Eischeid/Taylor Rupiper, CK, 6-0, 6-0; Knight/Bowser, FD, def. Marques Huesman/Landon Jennings, Mason City, 6-1, 6-3; Knight/Bowser, FD, def. Peter Greteman/Nate Greteman, CK, 6-1, 6-2; Ben Jenson/Matt Merry, MC, def. Matt Carlson/James Wu, FD, 7-5, 6-2.
The Dodgers received state berths from the top-seeded doubles duo of David Knight and Stephen Bowser, which finished a perfect 3-0 on the day.
Brian Rasmussen also qualified for state as an individual.
‘‘David and Stephen obviously played great,’’ said FDSH head coach Kris Lien. ‘‘They had a goal of making it to state since the beginning of the season and decided to start playing their best tennis late in the year.
“When they play to their potential, they’re awfully hard to beat. We fully expect them to make some noise down in Cedar Rapids.’’
Fort Dodge’s other doubles tandem of Matt Carlson and James Wu was defeated in their opening round match.
Rasmussen was the lone individual state qualifier for the Dodgers. The No. 3 seed earned victories in his first two matches, before falling to Austin Grundy of Sioux City North (6-0, 6-0) in the finals.
‘‘Brian’s a talented kid, who’s very steady and smart,’’ Lien said. ‘‘I think he has the opportunity to give the district champion a run for his money at state. He lost to Grundy, who went through the whole day unbeaten, but he played him tough in every match.’’
Zane Hendricks came in third individually for FDSH, finishing 3-1 on the afternoon.
‘‘Zane played as well as he had all season long (yesterday),’’ said Lien. ‘‘Hopefully, this kind of performance will help his confidence for the future.’’
The Dodgers will now advance to substate team competition on Saturday, May 17 at a site yet to be determined. Individual state action is set for May 23-24 in Cedar Rapids.
