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DeMarais’ point was one of the most impressive Thursday for Cotter High School’s boys tennis team, which cruised past Stewartville in straight-sets for a 7-0 victory.
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Cotter's No. 1 singles player Jake Demarais hits a forehand shot during a rally point in a dual meet against Stewartville on Thursday in Winona. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
Despite DeMarais’ shot, which helped him take a 1-0 lead in the second set of his No. 1 singles match, Joey Nadeau was less impressed.
Approaching DeMarais while walking after a ball his opponent hit out wide, Nadeau, who had just taken a 2-0 lead in the second set of his No. 2 singles match, smirked at his former doubles partner from a year ago.
“Jake, I have a game on you.”
Nadeau, a senior, eventually earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Stewartville’s Neal Abbott. About five minutes later, DeMarais left the court with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
“Jake and I just like to have fun when we’re on the courts,” Nadeau said. “We’re both really competitive, and we were just joking around out there.”
The same-team competition may have been more fierce than the actual match. The Tigers won 14 games. Cotter won 84.
“They’re going after each other trying to beat each other,” Cotter coach Blake Duden said, referring to his two singles stars. “It’s good to have guys like Jake and
Joey and Ross (Heymans). All three want to play No. 1, and if I put them at 2 or 3, they’re ticked.”
If there was any anger, it wasn’t evident Thursday.
The win snapped a three-match losing streak for the Ramblers (3-4, 3-1), who entered Thursday having lost 17 of their past 21 singles and doubles matches. It also was Cotter’s second straight-sets victory over Stewartville on the season.
“It’s good because it helps their confidence, gets them back on that winning edge,” Duden said. “At the same time, you could say it’s not that great because it wasn’t very competitive.”
Ben Lee earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory in No. 3 singles, and Ludi Leser won 6-0, 6-0 in No. 4 singles.
Connor Ferris and Sam Werle (6-0, 6-3), Collin Michener and Bobby Kim (6-3, 6-1) and Grant Gernes and Mike Turek (6-1, 6-4) cruised to doubles victories for the Ramblers.
