Apr. 18—EAST GRAND FORKS — Kyle Hanson was at the Xcel Energy Center watching East Grand Forks Senior High play for a boys hockey state championship last month.

The Senior High boys tennis coach watched forward Nolan Meulebroeck take a knee-to-knee hit and leave the title game.

When Meulebroeck returned to the ice, Hanson was relieved.

“I texted him after the game and said, ‘Don’t scare me like that again,'” Hanson said.

But it wasn’t all good news.

The injury has caused Meulebroeck to miss the start of the boys tennis season, a major loss for the Green Wave.

Meulebroeck was Senior High’s most experienced singles player, competing in 24 singles matches a year ago. Most of the other regular singles players graduated.

Meulebroeck was slated to play No. 1 or No. 2 singles this season.

“That was the challenge for our team,” Hanson said. “We were replacing everyone in singles except Nolan. Nolan was our guy coming back. Even for him, it was going to be a big jump, going from No. 3 to No. 1. It’s a big, different style. I think he can handle it.

“He has a toughness out on the court. He puts his mind to it. He wants to beat people. He has that grittiness. He gets intense. That’s what he was doing toward the end of last season with us upsetting Crookston and making section championship. That was on him.”

The good news is that Meulebroeck is expected to return.

“He’s doing some hitting,” Hanson said. “I think it’s just strengthening things. Hopefully, in next couple of weeks, hopefully in May, he’ll be able to play. There won’t be much of a season left, but it will be a huge addition to our team.”

In the meantime, sophomore Aaden Wavra has jumped into No. 1 singles for the Green Wave, who were the runners-up in Section 8A a year ago.

Wavra mainly played doubles last season.

“He’s been in every match,” Hanson said. “He doesn’t always have to hit this huge, heavy ball. He’s very good at getting balls to corners and closing that gap to the net. He’s very good at setting up points, putting it into the corner, coming to the net and finishing it. That’s been fun to watch. That can take time for players to learn how to do that. He’s doing it as a sophomore.”

Junior Luke Hanson, junior Oliver Kalenze, junior Austin Kovar and freshman Bauer Walter are Senior High’s other key returners.

Junior Nolan Kluck has jumped into the varsity lineup with success, too.

“Last year, we had a lot of depth,” Hanson said. “Coming into the season, I knew they had a chance that we were going to make it to the section championship. I still really feel that way.”

When Meulebroeck returns, it will change Senior High’s lineup.

“We’ve been shorthanded,” Hanson said. “That’s only going to do us good in the long run. Guys are getting a lot of experience. All of the sudden, at the end of the season, we’re going to get to move guys down a spot.”

Coach: Kyle Hanson.

2024 record: 14-7, section runner-up.

Key returners: Jr. Nolan Meulebroeck, jr. Luke Hanson, jr. Oliver Kalenze, jr. Austin Kovar, soph. Aaden Wavra, fr. Bauer Walter.

Key newcomers: Soph. Kyler Berg, jr. Nolan Kluck, soph. Jacob Koval, sr. Eli Kurtyka, sr. Luke Massmann, soph. Brady Anderson, eighth-grader Brock Stauss, eighth-grader Rhett Walter.

Coach Hanson says: “I’m very optimistic about this team. I feel they have a shot at winning the whole thing. We have a lot of depth and we’re young. It’s going to be a wild ride. But there are a lot of other teams that are the same as us. There are a lot of young teams in the section.”