SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central won some close battles and lost some tight matches during the opening day of the State AA Tennis Tournament on Thursday.

The Golden Eagles are currently in eighth place in the 14-team field.

“Could have had a much better day, could have much a worse day,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz. “Had quite a few close matches. Overall, we had a good day.”

Kurtz noted that the Golden Eagles won the majority of their first-round matches.

“We’re sitting in a pretty good spot right now, 131 points is a really good day for us. … We knew the first round was going to be huge for us,” Kurtz said, “and we got 6 of the 9 through, so pleased with that.”

Gustavo Carrara advanced to today’s semifinals at flight four singles, continuing his strong season after a runner-up finish at the Eastern South Dakota Conference Tournament.

“He’s been probably our best flight. He was our highest seed at ESD and a lot of that goes to just kind of the depth that we had.,” Kurtz said. “Whoever was going to play four this year for us was going to have a very good season. Then he was our highest seed here at state. We knew he had a chance with a decent draw.”

Kurtz noted that Carrara defeated an opponent in the quarterfinals that he lost to pretty handily early in the season.

“Just shows the kind growth he’s made and really how much better he has gotten since the beginning of the year,” Kurtz said.

Dawson Pederson won a pair of matches in thrilling fashion. He won his first match in a super-tiebreaker and then after a setback, won a consolation match in a tribreaker.

“He won in different ways. He had to be more aggressive than normal the first match. He came into the net a ton,” Kurtz said. “Then the second match it was more of an all-around game. Played a little defense and also picked his spots where he came in. When he’s playing well, he can win in multiple ways.”

Kurtz also pointed out the play of Mika Dannen at sixth flight singles, noting the senior has played better as the season has gone along.

“He’s really playing the best tennis of his career right now,” Kurtz said.

When action resumes today, Central will have players still competing at a variety of positions.

“We’re pretty much on the court all day. … We have a lot of chances for some points,” Kurtz said.

Team Points: Harrisburg 336, Sioux Falls Lincoln 333.5, O’Gorman 268, Yankton 224, Rapid City Stevens 211.5, Brandon Valley 168, Mitchell 159, Aberdeen Central 131, Watertown 95.5, Sioux Falls Washington 74, Sioux Falls Jefferson 62.5, Rapid City Central 36, Brookings 19, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 16.

SINGLES

First Flight

AJ PREHN: lost Anson Griffin, Rapid City Central, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, (10-7); bye; def. Blake Walter, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 10-5.

Second Flight

MASON LIGON: def. Carter Kemmis, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 6-2, 6-1; lost to Jason Hancock, Harrisburg, 6-0, 6-0; lost to Braden Nelson, Rapid City Stevens, 10-3.

Third Flight

DAWSON PEDERSON: def. Charlie Erickson, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 6-3, 2-6, (10-7); lost to Jacob Husser, Sioux Falls Lincoln, 6-0, 6-1; def. Gavin Stone, Brandon Valley, 10-9 (7-5).

Fourth Flight

GUSTAVO CARRARA: def. Samuel Markman, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 6-0, 6-0; def. Josh Mueller, Rapid City Stevens, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Fifth Flight

ARIC TENNANT: lost to Dawson Hartman, Watertown, 6-2, 6-4; bye; def. Andrew Brockmueller, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 10-3.

Sixth Flight

MIKA DANNEN: def. Austin Josephenson, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 6-2, 6-0; lost to Sutton Thompson, Mitchell, 6-1 6-2; lost to Danzin Roozenboom, Rapid City Stevens, 10-8.

DOUBLES

First Flight

AJ PREHN-GUSTAVO CARRARA: lost to Mauszycki-Jerke, Mitchell, 6-3, 6-4; bye.

Second Flight

MASON LIGON-DAWSON PEDERSON: def. Mueller-McCarty, Brookings, 6-0, 6-0; lost to Husser-Tao, Sioux Falls Lincoln, 6-2, 6-3.

Third Flight

ARIC TENNANT-MIKA DANNEN: def. Casper-Vandewater, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 6-1, 6-2; lost to Rott-Rausch, Harrisburg, 6-0, 6-3.