By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

Lake Orion’s girls varsity tennis team is off to a strong start, kicking off their season with three big wins over Oxford, Fenton last week and a big 8-6 win over West Bloomfield on Monday. The wins put the Dragons at an overall record of 3-0 right out of the gate.

“I was just talking to the West Bloomfield coach and it sounds like in our league its probably going to be between Lake Orion and Berkley. So, maybe win the league,” said Head Coach Eric Bracciano. “That’s something very exciting for this team. This is the most excited I’ve ever been about a team I’ve coached here.”

One big change to Lake Orion’s lineup is newcomer to the team, freshman Sienna Osbourene who currently holds Lake Orion’s no. one singles spot. Osbourene did not disappoint in her match-up against West Bloomfield, dominating her Laker opponent 6-0 in both sets.

Lake Orion’s singles players Nicole Luna, Julia Deprez and Elisa Delorios all won their sets as well, sweeping the singles matches.

The Dragon’s no. one doubles team consisting of Nadia Oleynik and Greer McElroy won each set 6-2; while their no. two doubles team of Mia Merrell and Anja Roedenbeck swept their match too with a 6-3 win and a 6-0 win in sets one and two respectively.

The no. three and four doubles team ladies had close losses to the Lakers.

With the current momentum in the Dragon’s favor, the ladies have their sights set higher than just that of winning the league.

“We are hoping to qualify for the state tournament. There’s a regional tournament that is toward the end of May and the top two teams qualify from the regional tournament to go to the state tournament, so our goal is to try to do that.”

Coming off of last year, with the season being essentially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ladies are just happy to have the opportunity to play this year.

“A lot of them trained in the off-season, in as safe of a way as they can,” Bracciano said. “Tennis is a very socially distanced sport so I’m thankful for that. The kids just want to play, they want to get out there and enjoy it. We’re trying to do everything we can to keep them safe.”

The ladies next match-up is set for 4 p.m. on Thursday at home against North Farmington High School.