GRAND FORKS — Mandan senior Jared Christen won the North Dakota boys tennis state individual singles championship on Saturday in Grand Forks, capping a historic weekend for West region tennis. Christen’s victory followed Mandan’s triumph in the state team dual championship earlier in the week. Minot’s Nolan Moore and Connor Ressler also claimed the state doubles title, defeating Bismarck Century’s Ryan Mullally and Connor Michela.
This series of wins resulted in the West sweeping the team, singles, and doubles championships, a feat not accomplished since team duals were introduced in 1963.
Christen, who had finished as the runner-up in singles at the state tournament last season, defeated Fargo North’s Arnav Panwalkar in a two-set match, 7-5, 7-6 (3), at Choice Health and Fitness. The grueling match lasted roughly two hours. Christen expressed that his first thought after the win was getting his name on the wall of the Mandan Tennis Center, calling it "something I've been working for my entire life." His father, Mandan head coach Paul Christen, described Jared as "locked in" during the match, admitting he himself was the more nervous of the two. Jared Christen had also broken Mandan’s record for matches won earlier this year.
Mandan secured the team dual championship on Thursday, beating Grand Forks Red River 3-2. This marked the first team title for the West region since 1993. Paul Christen described the weekend as "unreal," acknowledging his son's and the team's strong desire for the titles.
In the doubles competition, Minot’s Nolan Moore and Connor Ressler earned the crown by defeating Bismarck Century’s Ryan Mullally and Connor Michela 6-2, 6-3. Ressler, a senior, and Moore, a sophomore, had practiced together for years but were playing doubles together for the first time this season. Moore noted that "we just clicked," highlighting their complementary skills with good serves and groundstrokes. Minot head coach Scott DeLorme observed that Moore and Ressler had "just gotten better and better as the year went on," culminating in some of their best tennis of the year this weekend. They had advanced to the finals after beating Grand Forks Central’s Henning Gibbs and Charlie Miedema 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals. Gibbs and Miedema went on to secure third place, beating Grand Forks Red River’s Gabe Schauer and Max Mecham.
Coach DeLorme mentioned the long gap since the West achieved such accomplishments and noted the presence of young talent in recent years. He recognized Mandan as an "incredible team" and Jared Christen as an "incredible player," underscoring the significance of their achievements for the region and the state.
