The record doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to the Clarkston varsity boys tennis team.
While the Wolves are 1-7-1 overall and winless in the OAA II, they are playing their best tennis of the year according to coach Chas Claus, who is in his first year as head varsity coach.
The Wolves were able to pick up their first win of the year in a makeup date with Auburn Hills Avondale 7-1. The Wolves were originally scheduled to open their season with the OAA III team. But while the lone Wolves win came against the Yellow Jackets of Avondale, Claus claims he saw his team’s best performance in a losing effort against powerhouse Birmingham Seaholm May 4. Seaholm came into the season as the heavy favorite to win the league. The OAA will realign the tennis divisions next season and Claus said there’s a good chance Seaholm will bump up into the first division. He expects his team to stay in division II.
‘We played way better against Seaholm then we did against Avondale. We battled it out,? Claus said.
The Wolves took on another top ranked team in Rochester Adams, a member of the OAA I. The Wolves fell 6-2, but picked up wins from the no. 1 doubles team of Paul Chun and Paul Gunckle and no. 2 singles player Justin Roderick. Clarkston’s no. 1 singles player Amit Surapaneni fell in a hard fought three game set, Claus said.
‘We had some three setters against Adams and the last two matches we played (against Adams and Seaholm) I think we really fought hard,? Claus said. ‘Winning at one doubles is a very tough chore. To beat a division I team says a lot about them (Gunkle and Chun).?
‘Justin has really learned to fight back this year,? Claus said. ‘If he gets down he’ll stick in matches, where in years past he would have a bit of a tendency to get down on himself.?
Claus admitted the season has been a bit of test of endurance having only one senior on his roster. He has learned the true value of experience, but says all the challenges that face him and his team this season will pay dividends down the road.
‘Every match we play we can sit down and have a good post-game assessment and since we’ll have basically the same lineup next year say as a player how can you need to do to get where we’re going next year and figure out how we can come back next year and be competitive with the Seaholms out there,? Claus said.
Claus said he can already see the foundation for next year being formed.
‘I think we’re a lot less scared of people now. We came out against Rochester in the first match and I thought we played scared,? he said. ‘Now I don’t think we’re scared of anybody. We took it to Seaholm and were able to fight through that.?
The Wolves resume action May 13 at the OAA Tournament. Call the Clarkston High School athletic office at 623-4002 for more information.