RAPID CITY – It was a rough day for the Aberdeen Central tennis team, but things ended on a high note for the Golden Eagles.

After dropping all six of its matches on the day, Central received the team Sportsmanship Award at the Class AA State Tennis Tournament on Friday.

“Very well deserved. That’s what every coach afterwards said. It was a no brainer,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz.

While the Golden Eagles had some ups and downs this year in terms of wins and losses, Kurtz said it was one of his most enjoyable years of coaching because of this current group of players.

“They’re just an awesome group of kids,” Kurtz said. “They’re just so respectful. They’re fun to be around. They’re awesome.”

Central ended up in 11th place in the team standings. The Golden Eagles had several close matches on the day, but were unable to pick up a win.

“It was a very rough day for us,” Kurtz said. “Obviously, the second day of the state tournament, you’re going to play tougher competition in that consolation bracket.”

Still, Kurtz anticipated that his squad would have decent chances on the day.

“We had 2 or 3 matches that I thought we should have won or at least had a really good chance to win,” he said.

Kurtz said the bright spot on the court was the play of Mika Dannen at fifth flight singles.

“Mika Dannen just tennis-wise was probably the highlight of the day,” Kurtz said. “He lost 10-8. He was down 6-9, but fought back.”

Dannen, who Kurtz said played his best tennis at the end of the season, turned in a solid performance in his final match of the year.

“He played a really good match,” Kurtz said. “He lost a close game right at the end … but he played really well, so that was good to see.”

Elsewhere, the Eagles were unable to get over the hump, despite holding leads. In one match, they led 5-1 before falling, and in another they served for the match but eventually came up short.

“All year long we really struggled when we lost momentum with the mental side of the game,” Kurtz said. “We just kind of got down on ourselves and it snowballed on us too often, and did today, too.”

Central does not have a senior on the team, so the future looks bright.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a two-year process, because we have no seniors. We only had one player with any kind of experience coming back,” Kurtz said.

He noted that the Golden Eagles definitely showed glimpses, but just struggled with consistency.

“We did really good things on day one of ESD, we did really good things day one of state,” Kurtz said. “Now the challenge is we have to get better at certain things over the off season, but expectations are going to be a lot higher next year.”

Kurtz said the players are close to breaking through in so many areas, whether it be with menality, footwook, serves, etc.

“We’re really close in a lot of different spots,” Kurtz said, “so I’m excited to see where we’re at next year.”

Team Points: Sioux Falls Lincoln 555, O’Gorman 428, Sioux Falls Washington 383.5, Yankton 273, Harrisburg 264, Watertown 195.5, Mitchell 187.5, Brandon Valley 167.5, Rapid City Stevens 162.5, Sioux Falls Jefferson 68.5, Aberdeen Central 49.5, Brookings 26, Rapid City Central 19, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 0.

SINGLES

First Flight

AJ PREHN: lost to Jager Juracek, Mitchell, 10-5.

Second Flight

MASON LIGON: lost to Maverik Ragon, Harrisburg, 10-1.

Third Flight

DAWSON PEDERSON: lost to Charlie Erickson, Sioux Falls Jefferson, 10-8.

Fourth Flight

ARIC TENNANT: lost to Joey Meester, Watertown, 10-3.

Fifth Flight

MIKA DANNEN: lost to Vinny Robbennolt, Rapid City Stevens, 10-8.

DOUBLES

First Flight

AJ PREHN-MASON LIGON: lost to Segrist-Phares, Rapid City Stevens, 10-9 (7-4).