Hornets Dominant in Conference Opener

The Saline Hornets boys’ tennis team opened the conference season in impressive fashion. The team swept past the Dexter Dreadnaughts 8-0.

“This was our cross-over match. Dexter plays in the other side of the SEC. It was a nice way to start conference play,” said head coach Andrew BeDell.

In singles play, Blake Ahadi won his match (6-2 and 6-4), David Zick beat his opponent (6-1 and 6-1), Will Heider won (6-0 and6-4) and Karl Winsor rolled with a (6-1 and 6-0).

In doubles, Spencer Kennedy and Donovan Main rebounded to win a marathon match (7-5 and 6-1).  Matthew Geiger and Sham Shah won (6-1 and 6-1), Mitch Manninen and Noah Skochelak defeated their opponents (6-0 and 6-4) and Ryan Marcus and Kenny Viera triumphed (6-1 and 6-3) to round out the sweep.

“(Kennedy and Main) got themselves into a little hole to start and then they came back from 4-0. Those games can make a match. Dexter has a good team,” said BeDell.

The win was highlighted by a strong comeback by Kennedy and Main and an intense match where Ahadi’s ability to remain calm under pressure helped decide his match.

“If you get mad, it takes away from the match. You play one point at a time. Tennis is a game where you can always come back. Every set is a mini-contest. If you keep winning the mini-games, you can come back from anything,” said BeDell.

The Hornets will travel back to Ann Arbor Pioneer for their next match on Wednesday.