Tyler Slama (left) and Anthony Stegge (right) after their final match of the season in at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – Fairmont Freshman Anthony Stegge and eighth-grader Tyler Slama were named Big South All-Conference Boys Tennis honorable mentions after ending their season in the section doubles tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Their seasons came to a close with a loss against senior Joe Charpentier and junior Philip Olson from Holy Family High School in Victoria, Minnesota, by the score of 6-7, 6-3, 4-6.

According to Fairmont head tennis coach Laura Olson, it’s the work the players put in during the offseason that has pushed them to be able to compete with other high caliber players that are much older than them.

“They participate in a summer program, well our summer program here in Fairmont, but also a summer program out of Mankato,” she said. “They get together with a lot of other athletes in the area, and I think they do a little bit of technique work, but they play a lot of matches. I really noticed after last summer, so this season, a big change in both of them.

“Just in their confidence, in their strategy, they just became more confident and more and more smart on the court. So, I think that’s what really helped them to be so successful this season, is just that extra time in the offseason. And also, as you get a little bit older, you get a little bit more confident too.”

Conflicting events and illnesses opened the door for the boys to get a shot at some tougher matches where they performed well. Stegge ended his season with a record of 8-10 and Slama with a respectable record of 7-10.

” [Stegge] He played some first singles,” Olson said. “Our No. 1 singles player, he was really successful in speech, and so he was gone for a few matches because he was competing in different speech competitions. So that gave Anthony an opportunity to play up at [No.] 1 singles a few times, and then he played [No.] 1 doubles as well.”

The absence of some of some of the older players allowed for movement in the roster matchups the team was facing and exposed them to a higher level of competition. That showed just how much that extra practice paid off.

“We go out on changeovers and you could tell that they were trying to make adjustments before we even gave them feedback,” said Olson. “Or they were aware of maybe what was going well or maybe what they needed to change. And I think that just that awareness and that confidence was really what kind of pushed them forward quite a few steps this year.”

With some of the tougher opponents they faced graduating this year, Olson is excited to see what not only these two players can do but some other multi-sport athletes will be able to contribute heading into next season.