MILBANK – In their first meeting in close to five years, Aberdeen Roncalli rolled past Madison 8-1 in tennis action on Tuesday afternoon.

The match took place in Milbank and came about at the last minute.

“It was kind of a good day for a last-minute match. It just kind of came together right at the last minute, which was nice,” said Roncalli coach JD Carrels. “We had been trying to find a time to play each other all season and nothing really worked out.”

Then Carrels saw where Madison had a dual at Milbank and it worked out where Madison was also willing to play the Cavaliers.

The closest match of the day came at flight three singles, where Mason Carrels grabbed a 10-7 victory.

“Mason had a battle with his kid. He was full-bore. It was either a winner or it was out by about 50 feet,” Coach Carrels said. “It was just one of those where he thought he was just going to keep it in and let the guy make the mistakes, but he made about 50 percent mistakes and about 50 percent winners.”

In the end, the Roncalli senior came up with a big answer for his foe on match point to secure the victory.

“He finished the match on probably one of his best returns on an overhead that was smacked at him. He got it back,” Coach Carrels said. “The kid almost looked in shock that it even came back, and it ended up being match point. That was kind of a fitting finish to that match.”

All of the other Roncalli wins came by at least a five-game margin.

The victories should give the squad a boost heading into a road trip to Rapid City this Thursday.

“Most of the guys got a win, which is always good for the confidence,” Coach Carrels said, “especially going into this weekend.”

The Cavaliers will compete in a three-day event in Rapid City which is supposed to include three duals, plus a tournament. However, because of the weather, play may need to be modified.

Aberdeen Roncalli 8, Madison 1

Singles

Daniel Gamboa, AR, def. Mason Kennington, 10-5.

Cason Hellwig, AR, def. Spencer Reverts, 10-5.

Mason Carrels, AR, def. Cade Minneart, 10-7.

Palmer Johnson, AR, def. Chase Stewerwall, 10-1.

Landon Zikmund, AR, def. McGuire Stuter, 10-5.

Tandem Pierce, M, def. Sawyer Henrich, 10-4.

Doubles

Gamboa-Carrels, AR, def. Kennington-Reverts, 10-4.

Hellwig-Johnson, AR, def. Minneart-Stewerwall, 10-3.

Zikmund-Henrich, AR, def. Stuter-Pierce, 10-2.