Watertown places ninth, receives Team Sportsmanship Award in state tennis

RAPID CITY — O’Gorman captured its first South Dakota State Class AA High School Boys Tennis Tournament championship since 2011 by the slimmest of margins.

The Knights edged defending champion Harrisburg 484-482 to win the two-day tournament held on Thursday and Friday, May 21-22, 2026.

Sioux Falls Lincoln was third at 437, followed by Brandon Valley (234), Yankton (222.5), Rapid City Stevens (210), Mitchell (200), Sioux Falls Washington (138.5), Watertown (134), Sioux Falls Jefferson (93.5), Aberdeen Central (80), Brookings (39.5) Rapid City Central (23) and Sioux Falls Roosevelt (13).

O’Gorman’s Will Koziara won the first flight singles title and teamed with John McDowell to win the first flight of doubles. Benjamin Pekas and Noah Dobbs won the third flight of doubles. Koziara was the No. 1 seed in singles, Pekas-Dobbs No. 1 in doubles and Koziara-McDowell No. 2 in doubles.

Other singles champions included Jackson Hancock of Harrisburg, second flight; Robert Rallis of Harrisburg, third flight; Amrit Thury of Sioux Falls Lincoln, fourth flight; Ozil Sharma of Harrisburg, fifth flight; and Ferris Pendegraft of Rapid City Stevens, sixth flight. Hancock, Rallis and Sharma were each No. 1 seeds, Thury No. 3 and Pendegraft No. 5.

Cooper Rott and Rallis combined to win the second flight of doubles. They were the top-seeded duo.

Watertown wins Sportsmanship Award

Watertown’s ninth-place finish featured a fifth-place showing by Matthew Bertsch at No. 3 singles and consolation championships and a sixth-place showing by Tyson Lawrence at No. 5 singles. Xane Fligge (No. 2), Dawson Hartman (No. 4) and Boston Butler (No. 5) each lost in the fifth-place semifinals in singles.

Fligge and Hartman advanced to the consolation championship at No. 1 doubles before falling. Bertsch-Joey Meester (No. 2) and Lawrence-Butler (No. 5) each fell in the fifth-place semis.

“Overall, we had a good tournament,” Watertown coach Ryan Zink said. “Thursday is grind and everyone plays five matches. The kids gave it everything they had and we put five guys in the quarters but lost all of those. The No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams also made it to the quarters as well.”

The Arrows received the Team Sportsmanship Award for integrity and fairness on and off the court. It is voted on by other teams and officals. It’s the first time the Arrows have received the honor since 2016.

Watertown graduates senior captain Meester, who played No. 1 singles along with No. 2 doubles.

“Joey is a great person and he will be missed next year,” Zink said.

Aberdeen Central finishes 11th

Dawson Pederson (No. 1 singles), Josiah Grandpre (No. 3 singles) and Grayson Rehder (No. 6 singles) each won consolation championships for the Golden Eagles along with Grandpre and Rehde at No. 3 doubles.

Aric Tennant (No. 2 singles) and Wyatt Kiesz (No. 4 singles) each lost in consolation championships and did the same at No. 2 doubles. Alex Tarver lost in the consolation semifinals at No. 5 singles.

Here are Aberdeen Central and Watertown’s results from Friday, May 22.

Watertown Singles

• Xane Fligge (Second Flight) — Lost 8-3 to Eli Boyd, SF Washington in fifth-place semis.
• Matthew Bertsch (Third Flight) — Won 9-7 over Shane Callahan, RC Stevens; Won 10-6 over Chris Rockne, Yankton. Fifth place.
• Dawson Hartman (Fourth Flight) — Lost 8-6 to Ethan Marsh, Yankton in fifth-place semis.
• Tyson Lawrence (Fifth Flight) — Won 8-2 over Vance Divan, RC Stevens; lost 10-9 (0) to Max Vincelli, Brandon Valley. Sixth place.
• Boston Butler (Sixth Flight) — Lost 8-6 to Howard Rost, Harrisburg in fifth-place semis.

OPENING DAY OF STATE AA TENNIS: Watertown ninth, Aberdeen Central 11th after first day of state AA boys tennis

Watertown Doubles

• Fligge-Hartman (First Flight) — Lost 10-23 to Carter Kemmis-Charlie Erickson, SF Jefferson in consolation championship.
• Bertsch-Meester (Second Flight) — Lost 10-5 to Asher Dannenbring-Dawson Adams, Mitchell in fifth-place semis.
• Butler-Lawrence (Third Flight) — Lost 10-6 to Shane Callahan-Ferris Pendegraft, RC Stevens in fifth-place semis.

Aberdeen Central Singles

• Dawson Pederson (First Flight) — Won 8-1 over Carter Kemmis, SF Jefferson; Won 10-5 over Matthew Mauszycki, Mitchell. Consolation champion.
• Aric Tennant (Second Flight) — Lost 8-3 to Charlie Erickson, SF Jefferson, in consolation championship.
• Josiah Grandpre (Third Flight) — Won 10-3 over Kerrick Zhang, Brookings; Won 10-4 over Asher Vandewater, SF Jefferson. Consolation champion.
• Wyatt Kiesz (Fourth Flight) — Won 8-2 over Liam Anderson, SF Roosevelt; Lost 10-3 to Austin Josephson, SF Jefferson in consolation champion.
• Alex Tarver (Fifth Flight) — Lost 8-4 to Ted Lin, Brookings in consolation semifinals.
• Grayson Rehder (Sixth Flight) — Won 10-4 over Beckett Ruscitti, SF Washington; Won 10-4 over Shaurya Sehgal, Brookings. Consolation champion.

2026 STATE A BOYS TENNIS: Aberdeen Roncalli places ninth, Milbank 11th in state Class A boys tennis

Aberdeen Central Doubles

• Tennant-Kiesz (Second Flight) — Lost 10-9 (5) to Austin Josephson-Asher Vandewater, SF Jefferson in consolation championship.
• Josiah Grandpre-Rehder (Third Flight) — Won 10-8 over Brodie McCarty-Kaden McCaulley, SF Jefferson. Consolation champions.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Final wrap of 2026 state Class AA boys tennis tourney