By John RittenhouseLuverne’s initial appearance at the Minnesota State High School Team Tennis Tournament came to an end Wednesday, June 8, at the Nicollet Tennis Club in Minneapolis.Playing Virginia in the first round of consolation play, Luverne was eliminated from further competition after taking a 5-2 setback from the Blue Devils.The win sent Virginia to the championship match of the consolation round played at the same site later that day, where it lost a 6-1 decision to Thief River Falls.Luverne ended a 14-6 team season with the loss.The Cardinals, who were unable to win a match during the tournament opener against St. Paul Academy & Summit School on Tuesday, June 7, picked up two points against the Blue Devils.Senior Dusty Antoine prevailed at No. 1 singles, while senior Brandon Deragisch and junior Nick Heronimus posted a win at first doubles.Antoine nailed down 6-1 and 6-4 victories over Andrew Erickson, who eventually placed third in the individual singles tournament."Dusty served really well and played a good all-around match against Erickson," said LHS coach Greg Antoine.Heronimus and Deragisch won a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 decision from Casey Sloth and Mike Villa."Brandon and Nick played one of their longest and toughest matches of the year against Virginia," said the LHS coach. "They battled all the way to the end and came out on top. Their athleticism carried them a long way in this match."Virginia’s five wins came in straight sets.Mike Skubic bested David Nelson by 6-1 and 6-4 tallies at No. 2 singles, Brian Villia topped Derek Boeve by 6-0 and 6-1 scores at No. 3, and Nico Sacchetti saddled Zach Sanderson with a pair of 6-0 setbacks at No. 4.Virginia’s Trevor Asbach and Kevin Urick notched 6-0 and 7-6 wins over Weston Sawtelle and Erik Stegemann at second doubles. Jared Cuoco and Evan Friedlieb posted 6-2 and 6-1 victories against Jamie Vickery and Matt Kreuch at No. 3 doubles."Our team learned a lot from our experience at state," said coach Antoine. "Hopefully, with losing only two seniors, we can work towards getting our game to the next level and be a contender for the conference and section tournament championships again next year."
