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Boyer serves up 2 victories at state
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Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor
Next spring, perhaps Dusty Boyer should set a goal of winning the state tennis championship and then see what happens.
At the start of this season, the eighth-grader wanted to reach the state tourney and win two matches. As last week’s tournament came to its conclusion at the University of Minnesota’s Baseline Tennis Center, Boyer had done just that. He eventually lost in the consolation finals to Eden Prairie’s Justin Haag.
“Dusty had a wonderful state tournament, where he was the youngest of the 16 players in the draw,” Forest Lake head coach Greg Patchin said.
Boyer landed in the consolation bracket on June 5 after losing to Tyler Hjalmquist of Moorhead in the first round, 6-7 (5-7), 4-6.
He rebounded later in the day, defeating Mahtomedi’s Tucker Saxon, 6-3, 6-3, which sent him to last Friday’s consolation semifinals against the hard-hitting Eric Zishka from Owatonna.
Like many of the boys who compete on Minnesota’s elite level, these two had faced each other in other tournaments, with Boyer winning each and every contest. That story line still holds true after Boyer knocked off Zishka 6-3, 6-1, giving him his second victory of the tournament.
In the consolation final, Boyer took the first set, but Eden Prairie’s Haag was able to rally and secure the match, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
“He is a very talented kid with a love for the game and a pleasure to coach,” Patchin noted of Boyer. “It won’t be his last trip to the state tourney.”
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