Prep athletes of the week

They are longtime friends and have played each other a half-dozen times at various levels of tennis, but until last week, Lindbloom never had defeated Hayley Haakenstad.

The junior played perhaps the best match of her high school career, displaying enormous patience and consistently strong groundstrokes to defeat Haakenstad, who was ranked No. 1 in Class 2A at the time, 6-1, 6-3.

"I have played her tight before but I had never prevailed," Lindbloom said. "A lot of the points were very close. I think I just had a really good day."

Lindbloom won two other matches last week, improving to 10-0 on the season without losing a set.

While she wasn't willing to say that beating the No. 1 player in the state carried any added significance, Lindbloom did admit that she's playing with more assurance than she ever has.

"It wasn't satisfying or unsatisfying," she said. "I'm more concerned about how I play. But I feel like I do have more confidence in myself, both mentally and physically, than I had before."

On one the biggest stages of the season to date, Anderson, a 6-2, 235-pound senior running back, had the best game of his career, rushing 15 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles routed Totion-Grace 42-7.

Through three games, the senior running back has lived up to some heavy preseason expectations. He ran for a career-high 275 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 52-14 rout of Minneapolis North. Jones already has scored 16 touchdowns.

The sophomore middle blocker controlled play at the net in helping the Spartans to four victories and a third-place finish in the Becker tournaments. Kain had 41 kills, 21 blocks and 12 ace serves for the week.

The primary reason for the Hylanders' 2-1 start has been the speedy junior running back. He rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown in a 32-0 victory over St. Paul Humboldt, his second consecutive 200-yard game.

The loss of high-scoring forward Sophie Babo to the Minnesota Thunder Academy has given Mosher, a senior attacker, the chance to shine. Last week, she three goals and three assists as the Spartans downed Delano and Breck.

JIM PAULSEN