Raiders advance to district tennis final

BONNE TERRE — Connor McBride and Lucas Rodgers rebounded from singles setbacks for a dominant doubles triumph, and the North County boys tennis team defeated Dexter 5-3 in a district showdown on Tuesday.

Alex Lodholz, Peter Hickman and Paul Luebbers were are victorious in straight sets for the Raiders (11-2), who will face Farmington today for the Class 1, District 1 championship.

Dexter held a 3-2 advantage in the team score when McBride and Rodgers stormed past the duo of Tyler Miller and Samuel Ward 6-1, 6-3.

The pairing of Lodholz and Hickman prevailed in three sets, and Luebbers held off Noah Kronk for the clinching win.

Broken strings forced McBride to use three separate rackets while narrowly dropping his match to Miller. Lodholz surged from 1-4 down in the opening set before taking control in the No. 3 singles contest.

The Raiders will look to avenge two regular-season losses to the top-seeded Knights, who ousted Arcadia Valley 5-0 on Tuesday.

Singles Results:

1 – Tyler Miller (DEX) def. Connor McBride (6-1, 5-7, 7-5)

2 – Samuel Ward (DEX) def. Lucas Rodgers (1-6, 6-3, 6-1)

3 – Alex Lodholz (NC) def. Kyle Willis (7-5, 6-2)

4 – Peter Hickman (NC) def. Joseph Greer (6-3, 6-2)

5 – Paul Luebbers (NC) def. Noah Kronk (7-5, 7-5)

6 – Jacob Robinson (DEX) def. Josh Ruble (6-1, 6-1)

Doubles Results:

1 – McBride/Rodgers (NC) def. Miller/Ward (6-1, 6-3)

2 – Lodholz/Hickman (NC) def. Willis/Greer (6-2, 5-7, 6-1)