Having played five dual matches and two tournaments between Sept. 6 and Sept. 20 Clarkston tennis needs a break ? even if they don’t want one.
‘Playing this much is making us better. Everyone’s improving,? said Clarkston’s number two single, junior Alyssa Lucas.
Clarkston has enjoyed success in the face of a busy schedule. The Wolves dual meet with Troy Athens on Sept. 20 finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News, but going in Clarkston was 5-0-2 (5-0-1) and have finished second twice in tournaments this year.
‘It will be good to give them a little time off to rest. You want them to get that fire back,? said Clarkston Coach Kyleen Cunningham.
But before Cunningham could give her charges the rest they deserved the Wolves had some business to take care of last week.
Clarkston did not show signs of fatigue either, finishing fourth at the Ann Arbor Pioneer Invitational on Sept. 17 and beating Rochester High 6-2 in a dual match on Sept. 14.
Against Rochester, the Wolves singles players, senior Stephanie Parkison, Lucas, junior Darylann Trout and freshman Nicole Janek all won in straight sets. To seal the victory against the Falcons, Clarkston also got straight set victories from the number three doubles tandem of sophomores Kayla Sweeney and Kelli McKay and the number four doubles duo, senior Katelyn Brown and Jasmin Olinger.
At the Ann Arbor invite Trout, who won the number three singles flight, and Janek, victorious in the number four singles flight, were major factors in Clarkston’s fourth place finish. The tournament was marred by extensive rain delays and darkness towards the end of play, but Clarkston did manage to finish one point ahead of rival Farmington Hills Mercy.
‘Most people don’t understand how hard it is to sit for four hours and then go out and play three matches,? said Lucas.
Sitting around indoors waiting for rain to stop is one thing but Clarkston will surely put the six days off before their next match, against Marian at home on Sept. 26, to good use.
Marian, a talented team, will help snap Clarkston’s attention back to competition as shortly thereafter, on Sept. 28, Clarkston is set to take part in the league tournament
‘We’re going to have a good chance to do well at the league meet,? said Cunningham.
Cunningham is less than thrilled that the meet is being held at West Bloomfield as the Lakers are Clarkston’s strongest competition this year. The Wolves would like to win the league title outright this year instead of splitting it with another team ? like they did last year with West Bloomfield.