Sports
Hopkins' Erickson Advances to State Tennis Tournament
The Royals' top doubles team fell just shy of a state spot.
Hopkins senior is headed to the state tennis tournament following a first-place finish Wednesday at the 6AA section tournament, while Michael Fields and Manfred Barrios narrowly missed securing a doubles berth for the Royals.
Erickson, the No. 1 seed, went 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a semifinal matchup against Wayzata’s Scott Vezzosi. He then cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Wayzata’s Dustin Britton.
Fields and Barrios, who entered the tournament with the No. 2 seed, fell to Minneapolis South’s Luke Elifson and Martin Beck 6-3, 6-1. They recovered from that loss to defeat Max Olson and Tyler Kuck, of Edina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
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That win gave them a shot to play for true second—and a place in the state tournament. But in their third match of the day, the Hopkins players lost 6-0, 6-3 to No. 1 seed Noah Sprinkel and Jesse Sprinkel, of Minneapolis South.
The state AA tennis tournament begins June 9.
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