By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
ORION TWP. — Lake Orion High School’s boys varsity tennis team is off to a good start this season, sweeping both Davison and Oxford high schools in their first two matches.
With seven returning players and only four seniors, the team this year is young, but strong, said head coach Eric Bracciano.
“Some of these kids have come through the community ed program we have, played on the middle school team and now at the varsity level,” Bracciano said. “It’s cool to see them come from there to here.”
The team is once again in the OAA White Division where they face steep competition against Berkley, Clarkston, North Farmington, Stoney Creek and West Bloomfield. Last year, the Dragon’s finished in the middle of the pack.
“Hopefully we can push a little higher, push toward the top,” said Bracciano. “We’re hoping to win a couple of our Saturday tournaments and want to push as high as we can in the White (Division). We think we’ll be very competitive and we’ll see how things push together in the league. Every team is pretty solid, there are no chump teams in there.”
Lake Orion is also set to take on returning state champions Bloomfield Hills, the number two seeded team Troy, as well as Troy Athens and Stoney Creek who are ranked number six and seven, respectively.
However, with more players competing and working in the off season, Bracciano thinks they have a decent chance at rising in the ranks this year.
Against Oxford, all four Lake Orion singles players won their matches in just two sets while all but one doubles team did the same.
On Sept. 5, the Dragons head to Farmington High School to take on the Farmington Falcons for their third match of the season.