Before concluding the season, the boys on the varsity tennis team had something to prove.
They headed into the regional playoffs last week with a team record, 2-7, and facing teams they previously lost to in dual matches.
At the end of the day they placed fifth out of 11 teams, edging out Lake Orion and Rochester.
‘One of the ways we measure success is how we do against the teams we see throughout the season,? said Chas Claus, head coach.
‘We lost to Lake Orion but managed to tie Rochester in the league tournament. Beating both in the regional tournament is the kind of progress I like to see.?
J.P. Budzinski (#4 singles), Jordan Kincaid and Kevin Wiersyszko (#2 doubles) and Troy Hughes and Jake Zuzelski (#4 doubles) made it into the semifinals of their flights.
Brother Rice won the regional match. Troy also won a spot to play in the state playoffs.
The boys began the season after losing nine of their top 11 from last year’s team.
‘We were a very young team,? said Claus. ‘But we managed and progressed as the season went on. We had a lot of inexperienced players in new roles.?
Budzinski led the team in wins with an individual record 16-9 and Andrew Heuerman (#1 singles) used the skills he learned on the JV team last year and brought it to the court.
‘The overall season went really well and I’m proud of the progress we made,? said Claus.
The team loses four of their top 16 players during the off-season.
‘I expect we’ll be a much stronger and more confident team in dual matches next year,? Claus added.