QND’s Dyer and Strong win first two matches at state tennis tourney, stay alive heading into second day

PALATINE, Ill. — Daniel Dyer and Alex Strong are making their return to the Class 1A boys tennis state tournament last as long as possible.

The Quincy Notre Dame No. 1 doubles team won two of its three matches Thursday and are one of 24 duos still alive heading into the second day of the three-day event. They will face Elmhurst Timothy Christian’s Elliott Tandy and Timo Kacian in the consolation bracket at 8 a.m. Friday at Rolling Meadows High School.

Dyer and Strong opened with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over North Shore Country Day’s Jack Larsen and Thomas Scott and followed it up with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Highland’s Will Lindsco and Breckin Box.

In the third round, Dyer and Strong lost to Wauconda’s Sean Lenhart and Marshawn Gallego 6-4, 6-1. Lenhart and Gallego were seeded sixth among the 64 teams that qualified.

This is the second year Dyer and Strong reached the second day of the state tournament. Last year, they went 3-2, losing in the first round and then winning three consecutive matches.

At the Class 2A state tournament, both of Quincy High School’s doubles teams went 1-2 and were eliminated in the second round of the consolation bracket.

The Blue Devils’ Kael Holzgrafe and Drake Dodd lost their opening match 6-0, 6-3 to Lincoln-Way East’s Sam Cooley and Quinn Paris. They rebounded to beat DeKalb’s Kameron Falk and Esteban Cardoso 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of consolation play.

Holzgrafe and Dodd were eliminated with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Barrington’s Avar Anand and Shian Mittal.

QHS’s Surya Reddy and Ethan Stark suffered a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Chicago Latin’s Jake Goldstein and Mark Tismensky in the opening round before coming back with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jacob Harris and Austin Thomas. 

Reddy and Stark lost 6-0, 6-1 to Glenbook South’s Shaan Harjani and Gavin Johnson to be eliminated.