Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Hudson Clayton returns the ball against Esterville Lincoln Central's Keegen Lundgren on Monday afternoon.

FAIRMONT – While not officially starting the season, the Fairmont High School boys tennis team tested its skills during Monday afternoon’s out-of-state matchup against Esterville Lincoln Central for its first home event of 2026.

“This is such a great way to start our season because we are playing a non-section, non-conference team, so we can get some of the nerves out early while getting some practice in,” Fairmont head coach Laura Olsen said.

Fairmont won three of its five singles matches, all of which came in the third set, tiebreakers.

Hudson Clayton finished off Keegen Lundgren in a back-and-forth final set, pulling away late, 12-10, to earn the victory. Leander Nelson used an early lead in the final set, hanging onto a 10-8 win over Deremiah Wright. Finally, Parker Olsen outlasted Samson Mittrucker 14-12 in what proved to be the most intense finish of the night. All three Cardinals had pulled together late momentum after losing their second set to force a tiebreaker.

“We had some good competition in our singles lineup. I felt like we were very well matched today, which is also good,” Olsen said. “It’s nice to have good, competitive matches, especially for that first one.”

Carter Simmering and Rylan Truesdell won the lone doubles matchup over Esterville Lincoln Central’s Logan Jorgensen and Jose Escobedo in 6-1 and 6-3 set victories.

Olson and her coaching staff are happy with all the results from Monday’s competition. The Cardinals walked into the day with four practices under their belt and some new faces that needed match experience.

While the results from the event won’t count toward the team’s record, what the Fairmont individuals got instead was a solid foundation to build a season on.

“It was good to watch the kids play and see what we need to focus on in our next few practices,” Olsen said. “We’ve only had four days of practice, and there is only so much you can cover in that time. So it was great to hone in on those specifics we need to focus on.”

The Cardinals return to action next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., playing New Ulm at the Fairmont High School Tennis Courts.