The Clarkston High School tennis team tied for second in the Clarkston Invitational last Saturday.
Grosse Pointe North took first place with 18 points, while Clarkston and Livonia Stevenson each accumulated 14 points. Rochester finished in fourth place with two points.
‘This was a very strong field so our work was really cut out for us,? Clarkston coach Kevin Ortwine said. ‘I am pleased with our second place finish. The most promising thing was we finished in second place and didn’t play near our best.?
Amit Surapaneni, #3 singles player, finished the day 3-0 and was the only champion for Clarkston. Andrew Brown, #1 singles player, lost to one of the best players in the state from Stevenson in the finals, 6-3, 6-2.
Also losing in the finals were #4 singles Bharath Surapaneni, #1 doubles Mike Clause and Jon Szilvagyi, #2 doubles Andy Smith and Shawn Saparamadu and #4 doubles Chris Baker and Paul Chun.
‘To get six of eight positions into the finals against the other three very strong teams was a great accomplishment. A couple of more wins in those final matches and we could have won the tournament,? Ortwine said.
Earlier in the week, the Wolves knocked off Lake Orion 7-1.
Brown won 6-0, 6-0; #2 singles Justyn Roderick won 6-2, 6-4; #4 singles Bharath Surapaneni won 6-1, 6-1; Claus and Szilvagyi won 6-3, 6-1; Smith and Saparamadu won 6-3, 6-0; #3 doubles Chris Hammond and Zac Banycky won 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 and Baker and Chun won 6-4, 6-3.
Amit Surapaneni lost 7-5, 6-4.
‘Lake Orion is a real young team. This was a match that we needed to play well and we did,? Coach Ortwine said.