BISMARCK -- Grand Forks Red River and Fargo South took care of business Thursday to set up an anticipated state championship showdown.
Red River defeated Dickinson 5-0 in the quarterfinals and Williston 5-0 in the semifinals, while South beat Bismarck High 3-2 and Minot 4-1 at the North Dakota state high school boys tennis tournament.
Red River will go after its 11th straight state dual title against Fargo South at 9 a.m. today.
"Playing an unknown Dickinson right away, we played well," Red River coach Greg LaDouceur said. "And I thought everyone who played in both matches got better in the second match.
"Now we have a night to rest and get ready to play South."
ADVERTISEMENT
Red River cruised to the final, losing 11 games to Dickinson and seven to Williston. The Roughriders didn't lose a set on the first day.
Grand Forks Central, meanwhile, lost 3-2 in a quarterfinal dual against Minot.
The decisive match came at No. 1 doubles, where the Knights' team of Matt Fuka and Caleb Folson took a 3-2 lead in the third set before losing 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
"It came down to that match and we got a little nervous," Central coach Duddy Weisser said.
The Knights rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a 4-1 win over Bismarck High, which lost 3-2 to Fargo South in the quarterfinals.
Jon Simonson and Paul LaDue won both of their matches to pace Central.
"I thought we played well in both," Weisser said. "Bismarck was a pretty good win for us. They lost just 3-2 to South, so that's nice."
Central will face Fargo Shanley for fifth place on Friday at 9 a.m.
ADVERTISEMENT
Minot plays Williston for third place.
The individual portion of the tournament follows, beginning at 1 p.m.
