Although the Albert Lea boys’ tennis team was swept in the opening round of the postseason, the team posted its highest win total since 2005.

“I’m very pleased with the way the tennis season turned out,” said Tigers coach Tom Dyrdal. “We have a great bunch of guys who play hard and demonstrate the kind of sportsmanship we can all be proud of.”

Albert Lea (7-8, 4-8 Big Nine) played its last match of the season and was eliminated from the Section 1AA team tournament Tuesday with a 7-0 loss at Owatonna.

Taylor Herfindahl, Albert Lea’s No. 1 singles starter, was a Big Nine All-Conference selection, Dyrdal said.

“It’s quite an honor to be named Big Nine All-Conference,” he said. “Taylor is an excellent player and one of the leaders on our team.”

At No. 2 singles, Schafer Overgaard forced a super tiebreaker but fell 6-4, 2-6, 4-10.

“He played one of his best sets of the season to open the match,” Dyrdal said. “Unfortunately, he rolled his ankle in the second set and wasn’t able to pull out the tiebreaker.”

Also forcing a super tiebreaker was Andy Woitas and Austin Dulitz at No. 2 doubles. The duo lost 6-4, 2-6, 2-10.

Senior starters Will Martin, Garrett Matz and Matt Carlson played their last team match.

The Tigers finished the season seventh out of 12 teams in the Big Nine Conference standings. Rochester Century was the conference champion, and Rochester Mayo was the runner-up.

Although Albert Lea is done for the season at the team level, the Tigers will compete at the Section 1AA individual tournament that starts May 21. A time and location was not listed on the Minnesota State High School League’s website.

Albert Lea’s JV team finished the season 11-3.