Lake Orion held serve and dominated its competitors on the tennis courts last week, beating Farmington, 8-1, then Royal Oak, 9-0.
On Sept. 20, all four singles players soundly defeated their Farmington opponents, with seniors Nick Ludwig and Brenden MacDonald, as well as junior Jesse Keller, limiting their foes to two points or less during their matches. Meanwhile, four- of- the-five doubles teams won their matches, with sophomores Palmer Hatch and Alex Gandhi winning 6-2, 6-0.
Two days later, Lake Orion topped that by shutting out Royal Oak.
Keller again played solid, winning 6-1, 6-2. According to head coach Eric Bracciano, he is having a great year, with a simple and effective style.
‘He only has one loss against Troy Athens but, other than that, he’s been doing great,? Bracciano said. ‘He’s really scrappy, he runs down shots, has a nice serve, a solid forehand, good slice in his backhand and just dominates his opponents.?
Ludwig plays similarly according to Bracciano, who won his match against Royal Oak, 6-2, 6-0.
On the doubles side, Ryan (junior) and Eric (senior) Kaczor won both their matches Sept. 22 against Royal Oak. When asked about their style of play, the brothers said they try to keep it simple.
‘We don’t play fancy or anything,? said Ryan. ‘We play for points.? Bracciano added, they are ‘fine young men of few words.?
The two wins give the varsity boys tennis team a 3-4 record. The coach says the team has gotten better as the season has progressed.
‘We’re having a good couple of weeks here, and some of those losses were hard to take because they were so close and could have gone either way,? he said. ‘They’re really getting it together now and gelling as a team.?
Over the weekend, the varsity boys tennis team played Bloomfield Hills Lahser, followed by a tournament at Troy Athens.