Litchfield is heading back to the State Class A Boys Tennis Tournament.
The top-seeded Dragons validated their ranking by cruising through the semifinals and finals of the Section 2A team tournament Monday at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
By beating second-seeded St. Peter 5-2 in the championship match, Litchfield advanced to the state tournament, which is set for June 7-10 at Reed Sweatt Tennis Center in Minneapolis. Seedings and schedule for the state tournament had not been determined when this edition of the Independent Review went to press.
With the wins Monday, the Dragons improved to 14-3 on the season.
Litchfield beat both Southwest Christian and St. Peter earlier in the season, by 6-1 scores. Both opponents made slight adjustments to the lineups Monday, but it made little difference as the Dragons dispatched Southwest Christian 7-0, then St. Peter 5-2.
St. Peter got its points in doubles, where its second and third doubles teams outlasted Litchfield’s duos in close, three-set matches. Litchfield’s second doubles team of Brady Cannon and Elijah Schacherer fell 7-6 (6-4), 4-6, 10-6, while the third doubles team of Gray Nelson and Josh Blomberg went down 7-5, 6-7 (7-5), 12-10.
Otherwise, it was smooth sailing for the Dragons, who won all four singles matches and the No. 1 doubles match in straight sets.
Litchfield won all seven matches against Southwest Christian in straight sets.
Litchfield will be making its 17th appearance in 36 years at the state tournament. It last qualified for state in 2018, when the Dragons finished fourth.
Litchfield reached the section finals last season, but in a different section — 6A — before losing to Mound Westonka. The Dragons moved to Section 2A this season.
