MENOMINEE---It was a successful start to the tennis season for the Escanaba Eskymos on Thursday as the boys topped the Menominee Maroons, 5-3, in Menominee.
Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen was pleased with what he saw from his team, which has been forced to practice in the gym or in Marinette's dome due to the late start of spring.
"We had a lot of bright spots today despite only having a few practices this being our first competition," Hansen said. "We had the usual early mistakes of mishits and positioning errors but the kids were resilient. We have five or six first-time varsity players in our lineup. A couple of them are first-time tennis players."
One of the Eskymos' few returning veterans, John Brant, had his hands full in a tough match with Menominee's Bret Anderson. Brant managed to win the first set on a tiebreak, and then lost the second set, 6-3.
Brant took control of the third set and won, 6-1. At #1 doubles, seniors Jake Eastin and David Fix cruised past the Maroon team of Ryan Woods and Chad Schulke, 6-2, 6-3.
"We were competitive," Hansen said. "Even the matches we lost were very competitive so I'm happy for our kids. It was a nice win to start the season."
Hansen added that the days of expecting an easy 8-0 win over the Maroons are over.
"Menominee keeps getting better every year and every time we play since Coach Troy Reuters took over," Hansen said. "He's doing a great job."
The Eskymos will host the Gladstone Braves next Tuesday afternoon at 4:30.
Eskymo Coach Jim Hansen was pleased with what he saw from his team, which has been forced to practice in the gym or in Marinette's dome due to the late start of spring.
"We had a lot of bright spots today despite only having a few practices this being our first competition," Hansen said. "We had the usual early mistakes of mishits and positioning errors but the kids were resilient. We have five or six first-time varsity players in our lineup. A couple of them are first-time tennis players."
One of the Eskymos' few returning veterans, John Brant, had his hands full in a tough match with Menominee's Bret Anderson. Brant managed to win the first set on a tiebreak, and then lost the second set, 6-3.
Brant took control of the third set and won, 6-1. At #1 doubles, seniors Jake Eastin and David Fix cruised past the Maroon team of Ryan Woods and Chad Schulke, 6-2, 6-3.
"We were competitive," Hansen said. "Even the matches we lost were very competitive so I'm happy for our kids. It was a nice win to start the season."
Hansen added that the days of expecting an easy 8-0 win over the Maroons are over.
"Menominee keeps getting better every year and every time we play since Coach Troy Reuters took over," Hansen said. "He's doing a great job."
The Eskymos will host the Gladstone Braves next Tuesday afternoon at 4:30.
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Escanaba Eskymos 5, Menominee Maroons 3
Singles
#1--- John Brant (Esc) def. Bret Anderson (Men), 7-6, 3-6, 6-1.
#2---TJ Myrick (Esc) def. Nathan Antilla (Men), 6-0, 6-3.
#3---Devon Barley (Men) def. Steve Prica (Esc), 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
#4---Dom Aos (Esc) def. Jared Rivard (Men), 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles
#1---Dave Fix/Jake Eastin (Esc) def. Ryan Woods/Chad Schulke (Men), 6-2, 6-3.
#2---Mike Shields/Steve Wood (Esc) def. Colton Fernstrum/Michael Kingsley (Men), 6-2 6-1.
#3---Chris Kelly/Caleb Kleiman (Men) def. Sean Berhow/Jared Bizeau (Esc), 6-4, 6-2.
#4---Nick Catani/Collin Nerat (Men) def. Collin Uhazie/Travis Heller (Esc), 6-4 6-3.
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