YANKTON, S.D. — The Watertown boys tennis team captured a fifth-place team finish on Tuesday at the 2026 Eastern South Dakota Conference Tennis Meet.
Xane Fligge led the charge for Watertown in flight two singles, securing third place by defeating Mitchell’s Asher Dannenbring. Tyson Lawrence mirrored that success in flight five singles, earning his own third-place finish with a decisive victory over Jack Pederson of Yankton.
In flight three singles, Matthew Bertsch reached the third-place match but ultimately finished fourth following a loss to Ryley McKeown of Brandon Valley. Dawson Hartman provided another highlight for the Arrows in flight four singles, where he claimed the consolation championship by defeating Pierre’s Levi Hight.
The Arrows faced tougher draws in other singles flights. In flight one, Joey Meester fell to Huron’s Htoo Zan in the play-in match. Similarly, Taren Veflin narrowly missed advancing in flight six singles, falling to Aberdeen Central’s Grayson Rehder in his opening match.
In doubles action, the flight two duo of Meester and Bertsch battled their way to the third-place match, eventually finishing fourth after a loss to Mitchell’s Asher Dannenbring and Dawson Adams. In flight one doubles, Fligge and Hartman were eliminated in the second round of the consolation bracket by Lucas Hight and Noah Lueking of Pierre. The flight three pairing of Lawrence and Veflin fell in their play-in match to Max Vincelli and Ryley McKeown of Brandon Valley.
Team Scores
1. Harrisburg – 436
2. Brandon Valley – 279
3. Mitchell – 188
4. Yankton – 180
5. Watertown – 91
6. Aberdeen Central – 44.5
7. Brookings – 34.5
8. Pierre – 19.5
9. Huron – 16.5
WTNSports.com 