Before the CI (cognitively impaired) Division adapted softball tournament even began, Dakota United coach Mary Hautman lamented it was going to be tough.
Dakota United's first loss is to champs
June 5, 2012 at 11:00PM
The northern teams, she said with a sigh, are just too darn tough.
That proved to be the case last weekend at Coon Rapids High School as Anoka-Hennepin won its third consecutive CI title with a 7-2 victory over the Hawks. It's Anoka-Hennepin's eighth consecutive championship, including titles won in adapted soccer and adapted floor hockey.
In the championship match, the Mustangs kept their record perfect -- no Anoka-Hennepin CI team has lost a match since November 2009, in fact -- while handing Dakota United its first loss of the season.
The Hawks put only six players on base through six innings and didn't score until the seventh. Anoka-Hennepin turned two double plays and also benefitted from multiple stellar plays on defense.
Dakota United had little trouble getting to the championship. The Hawks defeated Minneapolis Roosevelt and Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville by a combined 29-11 in the first two rounds. Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville wound up taking third. Minneapolis Roosevelt bowed out in the consolation bracket, the same fate as Chaska/Chanhassen/Prior Lake/Shakopee.
Dakota United's PI (physically impaired) Division team won the consolation bracket with a 10-1 victory over South Suburban.
Tourney timeApple Valley's girls' lacrosse team scored an upset in the Section 3 championship with a 9-7 victory over host and No. 1 seed Lakeville North. It doesn't get any easier for the Eagles from here.
The team, which received the No. 4 seed in the four-team state field, opens state tournament play Wednesday against undefeated No. 1 seed Eden Prairie at Chanhassen High School. The girls' championship game will be played Thursday afternoon at Chanhassen.
The boys' lacrosse state tournament, also at Chanhassen, features No. 1 seed Eastview, which began play Tuesday night after the South section was printed.
The boys' state tennis tournament is also underway. Team finals are Wednesday at Baseline Tennis Center at the University of Minnesota for Class 2A and Reed-Sweat Tennis Center in south Minneapolis for Class 1A. The individual and doubles tournaments are Thursday and Friday.
The state track and field meet is Friday and Saturday at Hamline University in St. Paul.
Brian Stensaas • 612-673-4127
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
