The undefeated Clarinda Cardinals hosted the 3-2 Atlantic Trojans on Thursday. The Cardinals were coming off a dominating 8-1 win over Southwest Valley, while Atlantic fell victim to Denison-Schleswig two nights prior. Hoping to bounce back, the boys hit the tennis courts.

In singles, the boys claimed three singles victories. Junior Nile Petersen (#1) and senior Avery Andersen (#6) each had a score of 10-4. At the #5 spot, sophomore Grant Sturm outlasted his opponent in tiebreak, 8-6. The final play of G. Sturm’s match had a fiery result–the Clarinda challenger hit the ball out of bounds, and G. Sturm called it is as so. The fans cheering for the Cardinals were unhappy with G. Sturm’s call, believing the tennis ball landed within the singles lines on the court, and voiced their opinions. However, G. Sturm held his call and kept his win streak intact.

In doubles, coach Mike McDermott switched up the pairings. In the #1 slot, Petersen teamed up with junior Brody O’Brien for a narrow 10-7 loss. The #2 team of junior Jesse Reid and sophomore Ethan Williams fell 10-4 to the Cardinals. At #3, G. Sturm teamed up with his brother, freshman Ethan Sturm, for the first time this season. The Sturm brothers came up short 10-7, and the Trojan boys’ tennis team lost their third dual of the season, 6-3.

Next week, the boys will compete five total times–with duals taking place Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and a tournament all-day Saturday. The first challenger of the busy week is Harlan at home. Play starts at 4:30 p.m.