Boys tennis: Bulldogs fall short of Roughriders in season opener
OTTUMWA — The opening dual of the season for the Ottumwa High School boys tennis team proved to be a battle to the finish with Iowa Alliance Conference south division championship implications.
Des Moines Roosevelt pulled out a 6-5 victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday night at the McCollum Waveland Tennis Complex. The Roughriders were able to pull out three of the five matches in doubles play, overcoming third-set super-tiebreaker wins by Ottumwa from the top two teams.
Ottumwa freshman Maverick Rath made a successful varsity debut, knocking off Roosevelt freshman Lincoln Kruse 6-2 and 6-4 in the No. 6 singles match. Logan Storto and Dominick Rath also secured victories in the top two matches of singles play before teaming up to win the top doubles match on a 10-6 third-set super-tiebreaker.
Caleb Ziegler and Marcus Storto also picked up the win for Ottumwa in the No. 2 doubles match winning 6-2 and 7-6 (7-3) over Danny Doan and Elliot Eckhoff. Doan scored perhaps the most pivotal win in the dual for the Roughriders, edging Marcus Storto in a pair of tiebreakers including the 10-8 third set breaker that decided the No. 4 singles match.
Ottumwa (0-1, 0-1 Iowa Alliance) heads to the West Des Moines Valley Invitational on Saturday.
