QND doubles team of Dyer and Strong secure return to Class 1A state tennis tournament
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Daniel Dyer and Alex Strong are getting the chance to outdo themselves.
The Quincy Notre Dame boys tennis team’s No. 1 doubles tandem won a pair of matches Friday at the Class 1A Jacksonville Sectional to reach the semifinals and earn a spot in the state tournament, which begins May 29 in the Chicagoland area.
Dyer and Strong won three consecutive matches in the back draw at the state tournament last year and finished in the top 24.
They took care of business convincingly on Friday. Dyer and Strong beat Lincoln’s Alexander Steffens and Samuel Flener 6-0, 6-0 in their opening match, then defeated Alton Marquette’s Adam Richard and Oliver Stevenson 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
The Raiders’ duo will face Jerseyville’s Jaxon Brunaugh and Isaac Wargo in the semifinals.
QND’s other doubles team of David Ehrhardt and Cael Willer won their first-round match 6-0, 6-1 against Lincoln’s Riley Allison and Tucker Roate. They lost in the quarterfinals 6-1, 6-1 to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Evan Aleman and Adam Wheeling.
In the singles bracket, QND’s Peter Damm defeated Rochester’s Timothy Lee 6-2, 6-3 before losing to SHG’s Kaden Smith 6-3, 6-1. The Raiders’ Aden Smith outlasted SHG’s John Christie 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5). He then lost to Jerseyville’s Dax Goetten 6-1, 6-1.
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