by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls will be well-represented at the MSHSL Class A Boys State Tennis Tournament next week. One day after qualifying for the team portion of the state tournament for the 15th time since 2004, the Prowlers qualified a doubles team for the individual portion of the state tournament.
Seniors Rhett and Reece Janisch won the Section 8A doubles tournament Wednesday, May 24 to punch their tickets to the individual portion of the state tennis tournament June 8-9 at the Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
In each section, the top-two finishers in singles and top-two finishers in doubles qualify for the individual portion of the state tournament.
Janisch and Janisch defeated Josh Soto/Sam Gamez of New London Spicer 6-0, 6-0, and Grant Ackerson/Reno Schierer of Fergus Falls 6-1, 6-0, to open the doubles tournament Tuesday afternoon.
They stayed hot, defeating Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel of Perham 7-6, 6-4 in semifinal battle Wednesday morning, before defeating teammates JJ Cornelius and Geran Gonsorowski 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match to guarantee themselves a spot in the individual tournament.
“Reece and Rhett came from different spots on the court – one has played singles most of his career and the other doubles with a number of different partners,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Shawna Spears. “I don’t believe they had really ever played together besides a summer tournament or two. I put them together at a home match early on in the season since it was their senior year – had to get one match played together and I think we all (both boys and I) realized they were a pretty solid match together. They proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. They did a really nice job utilizing both of their strengths and took care of business out on the court. It was really fun watching the twins win sections together.”
Cornelius and Gonsorowski, who entered the tournament as the top-seeded team, won their first round match by forfeit over Elliot Bartrum/Ethan Erdman of Crookston. They also made short work of their second round foes, defeating Carson Knutson/Trey D’Heilly of East Grand Forks 6-1, 6-1.
Cornelius/Gonsorowski clinched a spot in the finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Drew Bleick/Carter LeClair of Minnewaska Area. Following their tough loss to the Janisch twins, Cornelius/Gonsorowski had to regroup for a true second match against Wokasch/Happel who were playing well above seed with two upsets in the tournament already at that point. Wokash/Happel stayed hot and pulled off one more upset with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Cornelius/Gonsorowski.
“JJ and Geran have much to be proud of in their tournament play- they made it to the championship and played against own teammates, which is never easy for either side, but we knew if either had to play for true-second, we had the confidence that both or our doubles teams could beat the competing teams,” Spears said. “Unfortunately, JJ and Geran just had a tough time keeping it away from Perham at the net, which allowed Perham to take away with the match. JJ and Geran never gave up. They battled hard through the match but just couldn’t take it back. They held their heads high, still proud of the team championship and happy for their teammates Reece and Rhett.”
In singles competition, second-seeded Jett Cornelius dominated his first two opponents, defeating Landon Schiffler of Minnewaska Area 6-0, 6-0, and Reggie Winjum of Crookston, 6-1, before running into Crookston’s Isaac Thomforde in the semifinals.
Thomforde took the opening set, 6-1, but Cornelius rallied to win the second set, 7-5, and third set, 6-1 to guarantee a spot in the top three.
Cornelius ran into a buzzsaw in the championship match, falling 6-0, 6-0 to defending section champion Isaac Maddock of Osakis. (Maddock is currently ranked second in Cass A.)
“Jett had such a tough match against Thomforde,” Spears said. “He dropped the first set but battled through thick ground to take back the second set. It was in the second set where Jett loosened up a bit and just went and played tennis. He stopped letting the frustration of the first set bother him and ignored the tiredness that he felt and took it back. It was a great win for Jett and he went on to play Isaac Maddock from Osakis.”
Fourth-seeded Kenneth Schmiesing of New London-Spicer defeated Thomforde in the third place match, which meant that Cornelius needed to win one more match to punch his ticket to state. Unfortunately, Cornelius was unable to bounce back from the finals loss, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Schmiesing.
“Jett went in with confidence and put up a good fight in the first set. He was ready to rally for the second set but just couldn’t find his ground,” Spears said. “Tennis sections can be draining for players – especially those who play individuals. Jett was playing his 8th match in 3 days – with Monday and Tuesday being hot outside and then Wednesday – yes, indoors but still very hot temperatures in the building. And of those 8, Jett played 8 singles matches. He played his hardest and continued to give everything he had through each point but ended up losing the second set.
“Jett has had an incredible season of going 23-3 on the singles side,” Spears said. “He has made a name for himself in the section. As a ninth grader, he was given the two-seed for individuals. With his dedication and effort, he will only continue to grow and he will be a scare to many in the section for years to come.”
Also competing in singles for the Prowlers was Lucas Rantanen. Rantanen dropped an opening round match to Thomforde, 6-1, 6-0.
“Lucas has been getting more and more experience, and he has proven himself to be a flexible player that is why it was comfortable switching him to singles once we decided upon our doubles teams,” Spears said. “He is a player who is always sprinting to his spot and giving his all through every drill. He is a very coachable player and will listen to every word you say and try to put it into action right away.”
Section 8A Doubles
• First Round, Tuesday, May 23 at Crookston HS. – JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, Thief River Falls def. Elliot Bartrum/Ethan Erdman, Crookston, 2-0, 2-0; Carson Knutson/Trey D’Heilly, East Grand Forks, def. Marcus Wolf/Connor Gulbranson, Osakis, 6-3, 7-5; Jack Barney/Ethan Spors, New London-Spicer, def. Bryce Moen/Micah Moore, Osakis, 6-2, 7-6; Drew Bleick/Carter LeClair, Minnewaska, def. Michael Anderson/Hudson Hackel, Perham, 6-3, 5-7, 6-0; Rhett Janisch/Reece Janisch, Thief River Falls, def. Josh Soto/Sam Gamez, New London-Spicer, 6-0, 6-0; Grant Ackerson/Reno Schierer Fergus Falls High School, def. Nathan Kelly/Tatum Lubinski, Crookston, 6-0, 6-2; Connor Quelle/Tenzin Dahl, Minnewaska, def. Tate Steenerson/Jeb Haaven-Farstad, East Grand Forks, 6-1, 6-0; Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel, Perham, def. Joey Johnson/Ethan Leopold, Fergus Falls, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
• Quarterfinals, Tuesday, May 23 at Crookston HS. – JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, Thief River Falls, def. Carson Knutson/Trey D’Heilly, East Grand Forks, 6-1, 6-1; Jack Barney/Ethan Spors, New London-Spicer, def. Drew Bleick/Carter LeClair, Minnewaska, 6-4, 6-3; Rhett Janisch/Reece Janisch, Thief River Falls, def. Grant Ackerson/Reno Schierer, Fergus Falls High School, 6-1, 6-0; Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel, Perham, def. Connor Quelle/Tenzin Dahl, Minnewaska 7-5, 6-4.
• Semifinals, Wednesday, May 24 at Choice Health and Fitness, Grand Forks, N.D. – JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, Thief River Falls, def. Drew Bleick/Carter LeClair, Minne-waska, 6-3, 6-3; Rhett Janisch/Reece Janisch, Thief River Falls, def. Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel, Perham, 7-6, 6-4.
• Championship and third place, Wednesday, May 24 at Choice Health and Fitness, Grand Forks, N.D. – (championship) Rhett Janisch/Reece Janisch, Thief River Falls, def. JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, Thief River Falls 6-3, 6-4; (third) Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel, Perham, def. Drew Bleick/Carter LeClair, Minnewaska, 6-3, 6-2.
• True Second – Brekken Wokasch/Mason Happel, Perham, def. JJ Cornelius/Geran Gonsorowski, Thief River Falls, 6-4, 6-2.
Section 8A Singles
• First Round, Tuesday, May 23 at Crookston HS. – Isaac Maddock, Osakis, def. Christian Reed, Fergus Falls, 6-0, 6-0; Thomas McMahon, East Grand Forks, def. Soren Anderson, Perham, 6-1, 6-4; Kenneth Schmiesing, New London-Spicer, def. Nick Flugstad, Fergus Falls High School, 6-0, 6-0; Jack Birkeland, Perham, def. Riley Thorfinnson, Minnewaska, 6-4, 6-2; Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls, def. Landon Schiffler, Minnewaska, 6-0, 6-0; Reggie Winjum, Crookston, def. Tyler Stier, Osakis, 6-4, 6-4; Isaac Thomforde, Crookston, def. Lucas Rantanen, Thief River Falls, 6-1, 6-0; Jowell Gamez, New London-Spicer, def. Ryan McMahon, East Grand Forks, 6-0, 6-0.
• Quarterfinals, Tuesday, May 23 at Crookston HS. – Isaac Maddock, Osakis, def. Thomas McMahon, East Grand Forks, 6-0, 6-0; Kenneth Schmiesing, New London-Spicer, def. Jack Birkeland, Perham, 6-2, 6-2; Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls, def. Reggie Winjum, Crookston, 6-0, 6-1; Isaac Thomforde, Crookston, def. Jowell Gamez, New London-Spicer, 7-5, 6-3.
• Semifinals, Wednesday, May 24 at Choice Health and Fitness, Grand Forks, N.D. – Isaac Maddock, Osakis, def. Kenneth Schmiesing, New London-Spicer, 6-0, 6-1; Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls, def. Isaac Thomforde, Crookston, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
• Championship and third place, Wednesday, May 24 at Choice Health and Fitness, Grand Forks, N.D. – (championship) Isaac Maddock, Osakis, def. Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls, 6-0, 6-0; (third place) Kenneth Schmiesing, New London-Spicer, def. Isaac Thomforde, Crookston, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2.
• True Second – Kenneth Schmiesing, New London-Spicer, def. Jett Cornelius, Thief River Falls, 6-3, 6-2.