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Remmers, Bertsch advance to semifinal singles' matches to lead Arrows on first day

roger merriam, watertown public opinion
·4 min read

RAPID CITY — Senior Justin Remmers (third flight) and freshman Matthew Bertsch (sixth flight) each reached the semifinals in singles and carried Watertown into sixth place after the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday.

Remmers and Bretsch each won two singles matches to reach the semifinals and help the Arrows compile 176 points on the first day.

"It was a long day of tennis but overall we had a great day," Watertown head coach Ryan Zink said. "We had all but one flight make it into the quarterfinals in singles and doubles. Justin and Matthew each beat kids they had lost two twice during the seaosn to make it to the semis."

Sioux Falls Lincoln, which is chasing a 10th-straight state title, scored 360 points to take the opening-day lead. Aberdeen Central scored 49.5 and is in 10th place out of 14 teams.

The tourney is slated to conclude on Friday.

Justin Remmers of Watertown reaches to make a forehand return during one of his third flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.
Justin Remmers of Watertown reaches to make a forehand return during one of his third flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.

Team Scores

Sioux Falls Lincoln 360, O'Gorman 316, Sioux Falls Washington 299, Harrisburg 239, Yankton 205, Watertown 176, Mitchell 145, Rapid City Stevens 135, Brandon Valley 130, Aberdeen Central 49.5, Sioux Falls Jefferson 33, Brookings 23, Rapid City Central 19 and Sioux Falls Roosevelt 0.

Watertown Results

Curtis Sneden (No. 1 Singles) — Won 6-3, 6-3 over Jager Juracek, Mitchell; lost 6-1, 6-1 to Rocky McKenzie, SF Lincoln. In fifth-place semis.

Evan Meester (No. 2 Singles) — Won 6-2, 6-2 over Blake Walter, SF Jefferson; lost 6-0, 6-0 to Cooper Johnson, O'Gorman. In fifth-place semis.

Justin Remmers (No. 3 Singles) — Won 6-1, 6-0 over Brayden Parker, SF Roosevelt; won 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 over Cooper Rott, Harrisburg. In semifinals.

Curtis Sneden of Watertown prepares to serve during one of his first flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.
Curtis Sneden of Watertown prepares to serve during one of his first flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.

Joey Meester (No. 4 Singles) — Lost 6-2, 6-4, to Cooper Star, Mitchell. In consolation semifinals.

Skyler Stanton (No. 5 Singles) — Won 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 over Zacharly Moeller, Yankton; lost 1-6, 7-5, 10-5 to Jacob Husser, SF Lincoln. In fifth-place semis.

Matthew Bertsch (No. 6 Singles) — Won 6-1, 6-1 over Greyson Weston, RC Central; Won 6-3, 7-6 (5) over Ethan Marsh, Yankton. In semifinals.

Sneden-E. Meester (No. 1 Doubles) — Won 6-3, 6-3 over Grismer-Walker, SF Jeferson; Lost 6-1, 6-3 to Koziara- Johnson, O'Gorman; Won 10-7 over Woidyla-Eszlinger, Brandon Valley. Playing for fifth place.

More: Senior Aspen Reynolds celebrates first hole-in-one with a splash

Remmers-Stanton (No. 2 Doubles) — Won 6-1, 6-1 over Erickson-Kemmis, SF Jefferson; Lost 6-1, 6-3 to Morgans-Boyd, SF Washington; Won 10-3 over Rockne-Moeller, Yankton. Playing for fifth place.

J. Meester-Sam Karst (No. 3 Doubles) — Won 6-4, 5-7, 10-3 over Sorgdrager-Boyd, SF Washington; Lost 6-1, 6-1 to J. Husser-C. Husser, SF Lincoln; Lost to Star-Thompson, Mitchell, 10-8. Eliminated.

Aberdeen Central Results

AJ Prehn (No. 1 Singles) — Lost 6-2, 6-1 to Zachary Briggs, Yankton; Won 10-6 over Braydon Peters, Brookings, 10-6. In consolation semifinals.

Mason Ligon (No. 2 Singles) — Won 6-3, 7-4 (4) over Luke Jerke, Mitchell; lost 6-0, 6-0 to Drew Gohl, SF Lincoln. In fifth-place semifinals.

Mason Ligon of Aberdeen Central hits a return during one of his second flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.
Mason Ligon of Aberdeen Central hits a return during one of his second flight singles mataches during the opening day of the state Class AA high school boys tennis tournament on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Rapid City.

Dawson Pederson (No. 3 Singles) — Lo9st 6-2, 6-0 to Christopher Rockne, Yankton. In conslation semifinals.

Aric Tennant (No. 4 Singles) — Lost 6-1, 6-1 to William Jensen, Brandon Valleyl Won 10-0 over Kieran Furhman, RC Central. In consolation semifinals.

Mika Dannen (No. 5 Singles) — Lost 6-0, 6-1 to Levi Loken, Yankton; Won 10-9 (0) over Peyton Taylor, RC Central. In consolation semifinals.

Gannon Pederson (No. 6 Singles) — Lost 6-3, 6-1 to Ozil Sharma, Harrisburg; Lost 10-6 to Andrew Hahn, Brookings. Eliminated.

Prehn-Ligon (No. 1 Doubles) — Lost 6-3, 6-0 to Woidyla-Eszlinger, Brandon Valley; Won 10-4 over Griffin-Knickrehm, RC Central; Won 10-6 over Greismer-Walker, SF Jefferson. In consolation championship.

Tennant-Dannen (No. 2 Doubles) — Lost 6-4, 6-0 to Rockne-Moeller,Yankton; lost 10-3 to Erickson-Kemmis, SF Jefferson. Eliminated.

Dawson Pederson-Brock Anderson (No. 3 Doubles) — Won 6-3, 6-1 over Jensen-McKeown, Brandon Valley; lost 10-4 to Vandewater-Kemmis, SF Jefferson.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Highlights from opening day of the state Class AA boys tennis tourney