Blue Earth Area’s top singles players Nick Frundt, left, and Vern Johnson, right, competed in the boys tennis Section 2A Individual Tournament as a doubles team last week. The pair finished in fourth place. They are pictured above with coach Konny Wolff.

Last week, Bucs Nick Frundt and Vern Johnson traveled to Gustavus Adolphus College to compete in the boys tennis Section 2A Individual Tournament on May 25-26.

BEA’s No. 1 and No. 2 singles players joined forces as a doubles team at the tournament.

Putting up a hard fight, the boys finished fourth after losing to St. Peter’s winning doubles team and a Southwest Christian duo which eventually took third.

Frundt and Johnson were up against St. James’ Preston Wegner and Adan Rodriguez in Round 1. They breezed through the match to a two-set victory, 6-1, 6-3.

The Bucs duo then advanced to Round 2, where they faced Fairmont Cardinals Noah Vetter and Dominic Lund-May. Frundt and Johnson swept the match 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the Semifinals.

Frundt and Johnson battled St. Peter’s Marty Anderson and Cooper Dean in the Semifinals, a tough pair who would eventually go on to win the tournament. BEA’s duo scored a few points in the two-set match, but was ultimately bested by St. Peter 6-1, 6-3.

St. Peter went on to win the championship match against Litchfield’s Alex Draeger and Braden Olson.

Meanwhile, Frundt and Johnson played Southwest Christian’s Luke Schwen and Max Schmidt in a battle for third and fourth place.

Southwest Christian took the first set, 6-2. Frundt and Johnson rallied for a closer second set, but Schwen and Schimdt still won 6-4 to snag the third place title, leaving Frundt and Johnson the fourth place finishers.

Bucs singles players Jamie Johnson and Joe Frundt also competed in the Section 2A Individual Tournament as a doubles team. They were eliminated in the first round when St. Peter’s Will Elias and Anders Dixon won the match 6-3, 6-1.

Southwest Christian 4, BEA 3

It was a close match, but the BEA boys tennis team wrapped up their 2022 season with a narrow loss to Southwest Christian High School on May 19.

The Section 2A quarterfinal match, held in Chaska, began with BEA’s near-sweep of the singles bracket. However, Southwest Christian made a comeback and shut out BEA’s doubles teams to win the match 4-3.

Southwest Christian took their sole singles victory at No. 1 singles, when Garrett Lyles defeated Buc Nick Frundt.

The first set was a narrow loss for Frundt when Lyles bested him 7-6 (7-2). Lyles won a decisive victory in the second set, however, outscoring Frundt 6-3.

Buc Vern Johnson had better luck against Southwest Christian’s Mateo Schneibel at No. 2 singles. Johnson secured an easy victory in the first set, 6-1, and put up a fight to take the second set as well, 7-6 (7-5).

No. 3 singles was an easy win for BEA’s Jamie Johnson, who defeated Brock Walmer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

BEA’s Joe Frundt fought a fierce battle at No. 4 singles, ultimately emerging victorious over Southwest Christian’s Daniel Bozanich.

The first set went to Bozanich, 6-3, but Frundt made a comeback in the second set, winning it 6-0.

The duo rallied hard in the third set, with Frundt eventually clinching the win, 7-5.

Meanwhile, BEA’s doubles teams had a rougher go of it.

No. 1 doubles was a narrow victory for Southwest Christian. Bucs Devin Haase and Brady Lorenz were up against TJ Ringer and Luke Schwen, who edged out BEA in two close sets, 6-3, 6-4.

BEA’s Jerry Passe and Seth Stevermer also suffered a loss at No. 2 doubles to Southwest Christian’s Cooper Reimann and Austin Kimble.

The first set was a narrow win for Southwest Christian, 6-4, but the second set was a hard loss for the Bucs, 6-1.

At No. 3 doubles, Buccaneers Calvin Farrow and Seth Mathews struggled to score against Benny Strain and Justin Erickson, who tallied a final win for Southwest Christian 6-0, 6-0.

The narrow defeat marks the end of the Bucs’ team tennis season, which they close out with a winning 7-3 record.