Braves advance three players to singles semis
On the opening day of the West Region tennis tournament, the Mandan Braves took home a team title.
On the final day, they'll have a chance to add an individual crown to the haul.
Three Braves players advanced to the semifinals of the singles bracket during Friday's individual competition.
Karter Hatzenbuhler, the No. 1 seed headed into the competition, won a pair of matches to advance to Saturday's semifinals, where he'll square off with teammate Ryan Bitz, the No. 5 seed.
Jared Christen, the No. 2 seed, also opens Saturday one win away from a spot in the finals, opposing Legacy's Connor Svihovec, the No. 3 seed.
Hatzenbuhler picked up 6-1, 6-1 victories over Kane Shannon of Williston and Nolan Moore of Minot North to reach the final four.
Bitz posted a 6-4, 5-4, win over Carter Madison of Legacy and a 6-1, 6-3 win over Nolan Callahan of Minot North.
Christen posted 6-0, 6-0 victories over Colton Griffith of Minot North and Declan Hosek of Legacy.
Svihovec topped Rylan Thompson of Minot North 6-0, 6-1 and Quinton Wolf of BHS 6-1, 6-2.
In the doubles draw, two Mandan pairs remain alive in the consolation bracket headed into Saturday's semifinals.
Lucas DeRosier and Donovan Birdine and Deklan Wollschlager and Matthew Christen are both one win away from a spot in the fifth-place match.
The top four seeds advanced to the doubles semifinals.
No. 1 seed Aidan Diehl and Grayson Shaeffer of Minot square off with No. 4 Luke LeFevre and Braxton Burkett of Jamestown in one semifinal.
No. 3 Caleb Johnson and Cooper Miller of Legacy oppose No. 2 Charlie Holzer and Carter Anderson of Century in the other pairing.
The West Region tournament concludes on Saturday, with matches moving indoors to Cameron Indoor due to forecasted high winds.
The state tournament is next weekend in Grand Forks.
