Two BEA singles players reached the semifinal round of the Section 2A Individual Tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College. Jamie Johnson, above, and Joe Frundt each won two matches before losing in the third round at the tournament.

Two Blue Earth Area singles players followed in their siblings’ footsteps on Wednesday, May 24, when they scored slots in the semifinal round of the boys tennis Section 2A Individual Tournament at Gustavus Adolphus College.

In fact, Bucs Joe Frundt and Jamie Johnson advanced to the semifinals exactly one year after their brothers, BEA graduates Nick Frundt and Vern Johnson, did so as a doubles team in May of 2022.

Joe Frundt and Jamie Johnson triumphed in the opening two rounds of the tournament to earn their place in the Section singles semifinal, which was held on Thursday, May 25.

Though both boys faced defeats in the semifinal round, the BEA juniors still have their senior tennis season to look forward to in 2024.

Frundt cruised to the Section quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-0 defeat of Fairmont’s Dominick Lund-May in the opening round. Frundt faced off against Southwest Christian’s Mateo Schneibel in the quarterfinals, and booked a 6-1, 6-3 win which would send him to the semifinals.

No. 4-seeded Frundt took on St. Peter’s No. 1-seeded Marty Anderson on the morning of May 25. Anderson, who would go on to win the championship match against Holy Family Catholic’s Michael Frost, defeated Frundt 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Johnson served up a quick, 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Litchfield’s Gray Nelson in the Section opening round on May 24. When No. 6-seeded Johnson took on Fairmont’s No. 3-seeded Jack Hagen in the quarterfinals, he scored another decisive victory for BEA, 6-0, 6-2.

Johnson battled No. 2-seeded Frost in the semifinals, and was defeated by the eventual Section runner-up, 6-2, 6-2.

Bucs Frundt and Johnson faced one another on opposite sides of the net in a consolation match for third place. Frundt took the title in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1, leaving the fourth place title to Johnson.

In doubles action, Bucs Brady Lorenz and Devin Haase teamed up in the opening round against St. James Area’s Vince Brown and Caleb Fast, emerging with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win over the Saints.

However, Lorenz and Haase’s Section run ended in the quarterfinal round when they were eliminated by St. Peter’s Anders Dixon and Will Elias, 6-0, 6-1.

BEA’s Ryder Dutton and Mitchell Stevermer also competed at Sections, but they suffered an early, first-round defeat by St. James Area’s Andrei Rivera and Brennan Kern, 6-1, 6-0.

Holy Family Catholic 5, BEA 2

The Blue Earth Area (BEA) boys tennis team suffered a tough defeat in the first round of the Varsity Section Team Quarter-Finals on Thursday, May 18.

After prevailing, 5-2, over the Bucs on May 18, Holy Family Catholic High School earned a ticket to the semifinals on Monday, May 22, where they were defeated by eventual champion St. Peter, 6-1.

At the quarterfinals, the Holy Family Catholic Fire squad began with a win over the Bucs at No. 1 singles when BEA’s Joe Frundt was defeated by Michael Frost, 6-1, 6-1.

BEA fought back with a few wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles when Bucs Jamie Johnson and Brady Lorenz triumphed over Holy Family Catholic’s Owen Collins and Hayden Holcomb.

Johnson narrowly defeated Collins in the first set, 7-6 (9-7), and went on to win the second set, 6-4. Lorenz, meanwhile, defeated Holcomb in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

The Holy Family Catholic Fire took the last singles match, however, when Michael Lizak faced BEA’s Devin Haase at the No. 4 slot.

The first set went to Lizak, 7-5. Haase fought back for a second set win, 6-4, which was settled by Lizak’s 10-7 win in the tiebreaking set.

Holy Family Catholic continued its winning streak at doubles. At the No. 1 slot, Tommy Agerland and Joe Charpentier tallied a win over Bucs Ryder Dutton and Mitchell Stevermer, 6-1, 6-3.

BEA’s Seth Mathews and Gustavo Chavero were also defeated at No. 2 doubles by Holy Family Catholic’s Brady Nelson and Cooper Strezo, 6-3, 6-0.

No. 3 doubles brought a final victory for Holy Family Catholic when Henery Lisko and Philip Olson out-hit Bucs Blaine Grack and Noah Hanson, 6-3, 6-1.

Their defeat on May 18 marked the end of BEA’s team tennis season, which they closed out with a 5-4 record.

The Class A Boys State Tennis Tournament will be held at the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis. Team play will be held June 6-7. Individual play is scheduled for June 8-9 for both the singles and doubles players