By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
With three teams ranked in the top 10 among Division 4 boys tennis teams, you’d probably think the SAC/Lakeland Conference Finals on Friday, Sept. 27, was a highly contested battle.
And you’d be right.
In the end, it was fifth-ranked Berrien Springs that prevailed with 63 points, edging out sixth-ranked Kalamazoo Christian with 61 points and 10th-ranked Allegan with 58 points.
“This was a very strong Division 4 tournament that was incredibly competitive from top to bottom, which was reflected in the final scores,” Allegan coach Damien Arthur said.
Allegan, which hosted the tournament, had one flight championship, as Pedro Hara took top honors at No. 2 singles with a 3-0 record.
The Tigers finished runner-up in three other flights with 2-1 records: No. 1 doubles Nate Kuelber/Ezra Smith; No. 2 doubles Adam Mozery/Joe Sosnowski; and No. 4 doubles Wesley Goodspeed/Carson Woodhams.
No. 3 singles Silas Neldon, No. 4 singles Morghan Misner-Medemar and No. 3 doubles Noah Buebler/Oliver Burnett each placed third for Allegan.
No. 1 singles Gavin Clark finished fourth.
“Opportunities were there for us throughout the day and we were in the hunt to win this tournament until the final matches,” Arthur said.
The Tigers will face many of the teams that played in this tournament during a Division 4 regional on Thursday, Oct. 10.
“Thankfully we will have another opportunity to take on these teams,” Arthur said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Allegan closed out the regular-season portion of conference play by traveling to Bridgman and beating the Bees 8-0.
The win pushed the Tigers’ dual record to 8-4-2 overall and 6-1-1 in league action.
