Tiger tennis singled out
Cline, Olmscheid lead a potent singles lineup for the Tigers
Last season’s Farmington boys tennis lineup consisted mainly of underclassmen, which means the Tigers now have a team brimming with varsity experience.
“I’m looking to see if they can mentor some of the younger guys,” head coach Jack Olwell said. “I’m just working on the guys on what they can improve, not so much as winning. I want them to keep playing tennis and fall in love the game and keep playing until they’re 60.”
Singles players Ben Cline, who was All-Missota Conference in 2011, and Blake Olmscheid, who received all-conference honorable mention, present a strong combination.
“They really put us in a good position,” Olwell said. “I’m expecting some really good things.”
Rounding out the singles lineup are the tenacious Ivan Rodriguez and eighth-grader Bennett Lagro. Each went undefeated in his first two matches this season.
No one in doubles has won a match yet, but Olwell feels they’re close.
“They’re all rapidly improving,” Olwell said. “They’ve lost a few tie-breakers.”
Tyler Olsen and Jeff Zakoski line up at No. 1 doubles with Austin Tremmel and Trent Kortenbusch at No. 2. At No. 3, Austin Rau and John Zakoski have shown promise along with No. 4 players Ajay Ramnarayan and Drew Corraro,
The Tigers opened the season with a 4-3 loss to Lakeville South and a 5-2 loss to Simley. Both were closer than 2011 matches against the same opponents, which Olwell said is an encouraging sign.
Boys golf
While the Tigers lost a number of strong golfers to graduation last season, several promising players are ready for another round.
The senior-strong Tigers have Tommy May, Mitch Reed, Tony Lelani, Jake Hanson and Ryan Kelly aiming for low scores.
Chaska and Chanhassen might be tough for the Tigers to catch, but they could be in the next group after finishing sixth in the Missota in 2011. Toward the end of last season, the Tigers turned a switch in the Section 1AAA meet and advanced to the final round for the first time in years.
Girls golf
Much is new about the girls golf team at Farmington this spring.
The Tigers have a new head coach in Jon Stock as well as several new players on varsity.
Stock has three returning golfers in Megan Elliott, Alexis Hause and Brianna Swenson to help the team hit the links in stride.
“We have some strong returning players,” Stock said. “But the team is a bit smaller than it was last year.
“Our goal is to improve our game and continue to build a strong program for (Farmington).”
Andy Rogers can be reached at andy.rogers@ecm-inc.com or facebook.com/sunthisweek.
