Grueling Schedule Highlighted by Wykons Winning at Home

By Patrick Browne
Once again this year the spring weather forced the Wykon tennis team to condense the majority of their season into one intense week of competition. Between May 19 and May 23, the boys earned their first home victory of the season, placed fourth out of eight teams at the Negaunee Invitational, lost their final home match and finished sixth at the Great Northern Conference Meet.
Jim Anderson, in his first year at the helm for the Wykon tennis team, started the week with his team winning on May 19 and earning their first home victory of the season. The Wykons bested Gladstone 6-2 in their best team performance of the year.
“Although we had to adjust our line a bit due to some last-minute roster changes, Junior Varsity players Keenan Dobson Donati and Dylan Bowser stepped up to fill the gaps,” stated Anderson.
On May 20, the Wykons took fourth out of eight teams at the Negaunee Invitational.
“We lost some first round matchups which put most of our guys on the back side of the draw. The doubles teams of James White and Jonah Holmberg won their first-round match and finished the day in fourth place. Our top three singles players, Caleb Strom, Ethan Isaacson and Drew Alexa, all finished in fifth place in their flights, playing teams they hadn’t played before.”
On May 22, two days after the Invitational, the Wykons dropped their last home match of the year 5-3 versus Westwood. On a surprisingly beautiful day for tennis, the home team was supported by their biggest crowd in years but could not muster the win.
“We had a beautiful day for tennis and nice support from the hometown crowd, but didn’t do enough to get the win today. The best match of the day was at one singles, Caleb Strom played some strong smart tennis.”
It is no surprise that after three matches in four days, the Wykons finished sixth of seven teams at the Great Northern Conference Meet on May 23. While several of the players were able to earn fourth place individually, the grueling schedule leading up to the conference meet challenged them to play their best.