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No. 8 Saints outlast Cardinals in dual meet, 4-3

FAIRMONT — Three hours and 29 games after their first serve at No. 2 singles, St. James Area left-hander Benji Foss outlasted Fairmont’s Ben Hernes in a good-to-the-last-shot three-set marathon match to swing a 4-3 team decision to the Class A, No. 8-ranked Saints on Tuesday.

The hometown Cardinals entered the Big South Conference dual meet with a perfect record in three outdoor outings, and nearly upended the perennial powerhouse Saints in Fairmont.

“We survived and came away with a win today,” said St. James mentor Les Zellmann, whose team was playing just its second dual of the spring. “Fairmont has a solid lineup, including a couple of nice singles players, so it was a good win for us.

“Benji Foss made a solid comeback for us at second singles to break the tie.”

Hernes grabbed the match’s early momentum by coasting to a 6-2 opening-set win over Foss before the Saints’ southpaw rallied from deficits of 4-1 and 5-2 in the second set.

Foss then reeled off four game wins before Hernes rallied to claim Game 12 to force a second-set tiebreaker. Foss outlasted Hernes by an 8-6 decision to extend the final match to a third full set.

Foss caught his second wind in the 45-degree temperature to build leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in the third set en route to a 6-2 decision over Hernes to collect the Saints’ final point.

“I thought both teams played a good match overall,” said Fairmont head coach Eric Johnson.

Tyrell Zieske produced a vital team point at third singles to help the Cardinals even the ledger at 3-all. Saints junior Zoie Becker posted a 6-1 opening-set win over Zieske before the Fairmont sophomore answered by pounding out a 6-0 second-set triumph.

Becker then utilized her steady ground strokes to build a 4-3 lead in the third set before Zieske regained his rhythm to net three consecutive game wins to capture the tying team tally.

“She’s one of the best players in the fall, and hits the ball well,” Zieske said in reference to Becker, who missed the entire girls tennis campaign last autumn due to a torn ACL. Since she did not play the sport in the fall, Becker was allowed to compete on the boys roster this spring. She will likely return to the girls competition in the upcoming fall.

“I started hitting the ball with more pace and played more aggressively,” Zieske said about his comeback.

Ameya Komaragiri and Carter Klanderud staked the Cardinals to an early 2-0 lead in the team competition by earning straight-set wins at No. 4 and No. 1 singles, respectively.

Komaragiri downed Nick Brey, 6-0, 6-2, for Fairmont’s initial point, while Carter Klanderud bested Lucas Doll by the same identical score.

The Saints then swept the doubles bracket to garner a 3-2 edge. Sawyer Evans and Josue Solorzano downed Evan Carlson and Aaron Hendricks, 7-5, 6-0, at the No. 3 spot, while Landon Hoppe and Trey Witcraft fended off Blake Haugen and Jeb Green’s comeback at the No. 2 position in the lineup, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).

St. James’ Brandon Johnson and Dalton Wolle bounced back from a 6-3 first-set loss to Connor Madsen and Thomas Klanderud. Johnson and Wolle netted decisions of 6-2 and 6-1 in the second and third sets, respectively, at the No. 1 spot in the division.

Fairmont (3-1) travels to New Ulm on Thursday, while St. James Area (2-0) plays host to Waseca.

Varsity Results

St. James 4, Fairmont 3

Singles: Carter Klanderud (F) def. Lucas Doll, 6-0, 6-2. Benji Foss (SJ) def. Ben Hernes, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Tyrell Zieske (F) def. Zoie Becker, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4. Ameya Komaragiri (F) def. Nick Brey, 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles: Brandon Johnson-Dalton Wolle (SJ) def. Connor Madsen-Thomas Klanderud, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Landon Hoppe-Trey Witcraft (SJ) def. Blake Haugen-Jeb Green, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7). Sawyer Evans-Josue Solorzano (SJ) def. Evan Carlson-Aaron Hendricks, 7-5, 6-0.

JV Result

Singles: Stu Smick (F) def. Corbin Kaehler, 4-2, 4-1.

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