Woodbury boys tennis: Royals bounced in section semifinals

Youth was served in the first round of the Section 3AA tournament for Woodbury.

It just didn’t hold serve after that.

The young Royals upset St. Thomas Academy on Tuesday, May 15, but fell in semifinal action against Eagan.

The run caps a season that began with plenty of question marks after assembling a team with just three seniors and one junior. The Royals finished the regular season in fourth place in the competitive 10-team Suburban East Conference.

“Section quarterfinals and a top-four finish in the SEC is an impressive accomplishment and a lot to build on for our future,” said boys tennis coach Derek Otto. “The guys learned a lot from this season and we know we finished much better than we started.”

Woodbury got blanked Thursday, May 17, against Eagan, losing all of its singles and doubles matches.

Against seventh-seeded St. Thomas Academy, the 10th-seeded Royals saw huge performances in singles play, where all four starters earned victories.

Also earning a win against the Cadets was the No. 1 doubles team of senior Jordon Stephens and sophomore Darsh Desai, who won in three hard-fought set. The duo won 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Woodbury’s No. 1 singles player, junior Matt Shubert, also won a three-set match. He fell behind in the first set, losing 5-7, but recovered in the final two, winning 6-4, 6-3.

His brother, sophomore Joey Shubert, won 7-5, 7-6 in No. 2 singles. No. 3 singles player Ben Sajevic and No. 4 singles player Michael Chu both won in straight sets.

The season brings a close to the high school careers of Stevens, Sam Lund and Nguyen Phan.

Nine of Woodbury’s 10 varsity starters are poised to return for next season, including all four of its top four singles players – three of whom are sophomores.

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