By John RittenhouseA pair of Luverne High School tennis players advanced to the semifinal round of the Section 3A Individual Tennis Tournament with their efforts during the opening rounds of tournament play Monday in Redwood Falls.Sophomore Samantha Gacke and junior Brittany Boeve, athletes who played singles for Luverne most of the regular season, joined forces to form a doubles team that posted two wins to open the individual tournament."It was only the second time Sam and Brittany played as a doubles team all season, but they played well together as a team," said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "They showed good control of the ball. They were able to place their shots where they could finish the point off."Seeded sixth for doubles competition, Boeve and Gacke opened the tournament by saddling MACCRAY’s Megan Hansen and Melissa Gustafson (seeded No. 11) with a pair of 6-1 setbacks in the opening round.The Luverne team upset the third-seeded team, Montevideo’s Katie Jurgenson and Caitlin Strand, by 6-2 and 6-4 scores in the quarterfinals.Boeve and Gacke are scheduled to play in the semifinals of the event today at Gustavus Aldophus College in St. Peter. The Luverne team is scheduled to take the courts inside the domed complex at 9 a.m. The LHS girls play second-seeded Kristin Erickson and Jess Mueller, of New London-Spicer."It will be fun to have a team playing at the dome in St. Peter. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get someone to St. Peter, and Sam and Brittany made it," Antoine said.While Gacke and Boeve survived the opening rounds of the tournament, the 2004 season came to an end for four more LHS players Monday.Andraya Gacke and Kaitlyn Deragisch formed the tournament’s 16th-seeded doubles team. The 17th-seeded team, Montevideo’s Anne Flaherty and Megan Luebke, eliminated the Cardinals by winning 6-3 and 6-4 sets in the opening round.Alyssa Klein earned the ninth seed in singles competition, and she topped eighth-seeded Sam Bouschek of Redwood Valley by 6-2 scores in the first round. Top-seeded Judith Maas of Benson handed Klein 6-4 and 6-1 setbacks in the quarterfinals.Nikki Van Dyk won her opening match of the singles tournament as the No. 15 seed. She defeated 18th-seeded Claire Jaenisch, of MACCRAY, by 6-3 scores in the first round. Second-seeded Paula Beckerman, of New London-Spicer, blanked Van Dyk in consecutive sets in the quarterfinals."I thought all of our girls played well," Antoine said. "You just run into some good doubles teams and singles players at this tournament."
