This is already my fifth year as the boys’ head coach, and I’m definitely feeling a little more ready this year than in the past.”

Head Coach Alex Zuzek

The Hastings Raiders boys tennis team kicked off their 2025 season with a home match against the always-tough Woodbury Royals, on April 8. The Royals aced the Raiders 7-0, but Hastings returned well against Tartan winning 6-1.
At the time of the interview, the final scores weren’t yet in, Head Coach Alex Zuzek shared a sense of optimism that’s been building through a strong preseason.
“It’s exciting,” Zuzek said before the match. “It feels like we’ve grown a little bit year over year. This is already my fifth year as the boys’ head coach, and I’m definitely feeling a little more ready this year than in the past.”
Unlike other spring sports that have battled unpredictable weather and soggy conditions, the Raiders have been fortunate to get outside more consistently.
“As long as the courts are dry, we’re out here,” Zuzek explained. “Last Tuesday, it was technically snowing a little bit, but we were practicing. So, I actually feel a little more ready than I do most years heading into the first match.”
That extra preparation, combined with a roster full of returning experience, has helped set the tone for a season filled with promise. Every player on the varsity squad this year has at least one year in the high school tennis program, a level of continuity that’s giving Zuzek confidence across the board.
“There’s not as much complete new teaching this year,” he said. “Our numbers are still strong at the JV and B-squad levels too, so it’s been fun having those lower levels to develop talent.”
While the team lost several key seniors from last year, including Devin Yang, Matthew Darst, Nathan Welt, and Camden Kochendorfer, Zuzek feels the returning group is ready to step up.
“As much as we miss those guys tennis-wise, I think we’ll be all right replacing them,” he said. “You figure it out, like everyone does, and I actually feel more confident this year across all seven spots than I have in years past.”
Leading the way for the Raiders are three captains, two seniors and one underclassman who have earned their roles through both performance and peer recognition. Seniors Ben Rudy and Charlie Jensen are joined by tenth-grader Micah Slapnicher, and all three were voted into the leadership role by their teammates.
Slapnicher will also be handling the pressure of the top singles position. “Micah’s our number one singles player this year,” Zuzek confirmed. “He’s really stood out in early practices. He and Ben Rudy, who’s playing two singles, have both shown some high-level play already.”
On the doubles side, the Raiders are starting with a duo that already has chemistry. Jensen teams up with junior Malachi Beal at the number one doubles position. The pair competed together last year at the individual section tournament, giving them valuable match experience heading into the new season.
“We’re looking to those four guys, Micah, Ben, Charlie, and Malachi, for some results,” said Zuzek. “Those are kind of our top four, whether in singles or doubles.”
The Raiders faced a challenging opener in Woodbury, a strong program and section opponent. Last year’s matchup went the Royals’ way, but Zuzek saw potential for a much closer contest, or even a reversal of fortunes this time around.
“Last year, we were 1-6 with a couple of three-set matches, so we were reasonably competitive,” he said. “The hope this year is to turn it on its head and win. But if not, at least get even closer.”
For Zuzek, the match wasn’t just about the result. It was about measuring progress and continuing to build on a strong foundation that has steadily developed during his five-year tenure. Unfortunately for Hastings, the early season optimism and a great pregame player speech did not directly translate to the courts and Woodbury blanked the Raiders 7-0. But as Coach Zuzek had hoped, many of the individual games and sets were much closer this year compared to the last.
“This is a good test for us right away,” he said with a smile, glancing out at the courts. “I’m excited to see what this group can do.”
Here are the full results from both matches last week.
Woodbury - 7, Hastings – 0
Singles:
No. 1 - Eli Faulkner, Woodbury def. Micah Slapnicher, Hastings, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 - James Xia, Woodbury def. Ben Ruedy, Hastings, 6-2, 2-6, 10-3
No. 3 - William O’Brien, Woodbury def. Eli Handrich, Hastings, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Kenneth Woodring, Woodbury def. Gus Whitehill Conover, Hastings, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles:
No. 1 - Max Duthie - Connor Stratton, Woodbury def. Charlie Jensen - Malachi Beal, Hastings, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - Ben Gurno - Gus Groepper, Woodbury def. Tanner Mattila - Quinton Heiman, Hastings, 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 - Matthew Reed - Jordan Swango, Woodbury def. Fischer Kauffman - Aidan Suarez Garcia, Hastings, 7-6, 7-5
Tartan - 1, Hastings - 6
Singles:
No. 1 - Micah Slapnicher, Hastings def. Jemison Vang, Tartan, 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 - Ben Ruedy, Hastings def. Daniel Thao, Tartan, 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 - Ethan Gottfried, Tartan def. Eli Handrich, Hastings, 3-6, 7-5, 10-2
No. 4 - Gus Whitehill Conover, Hastings def. Alexander Ritland, Tartan, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles:
No. 1 - Malachi Beal - Charlie Jensen, Hastings def. Wyatt Yeager - Elijah Ziebell, Tartan, 7-5, 6-1
No. 2 - Tanner Mattila - Quinton Heiman, Hastings def. Zachary Larson - Mateo Reeck, Tartan, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 - Fischer Kauffman - Aidan Suarez Garcia, Hastings def. Christopher Eng - Alexander Rusch, Tartan, 6-0, 6-0
The boys have a lengthy and busy road schedule for the next week plus. First, they travel to Two Rivers on April 17, then Park on April 21, then Mahtomedi on April 22, South St. Paul on April 24, and the final stop on the whirlwind tour, April 25 at Lakeville South. They finally return home on April 29 to host Simley.
Tennis fans know that the official schedules from the Metro East Conference list start times of 3:30 or 4:00 for the afternoon matches. That indicates the start of the warmup times, and each coach puts the start time in differently. The typical start of the competitions is: Announcing lineups around 4:00 or 4:05 p.m. Then the boys get to their assigned courts and warm up against their opponent. This time varies and actual games are typically running around 4:30 p.m. If you want to be there to catch the most action, 4:00 p.m. is your best bet for these dual matches.