By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
A pair of runner-up flight finishes highlighted Allegan’s performance at its home invitational on Saturday, April 15.
The No. 1 doubles team of Hailey Fuller/Emma Kuebler and the No. 3 doubles team of Luna Ruiz/Taylor Fuller both won their first two matches before falling in the finals.
As a team, the Tigers placed fifth in the stacked eight-team field with 36 points.
Grand Rapids Christian (No. 6 in Division 3) was first with 58 points, followed by West Ottawa (No. 1 in Division 1) with 49, St. Joseph (No. 5 in Division 2) with 46 and Romeo with 39.
Armada (26 points), Traverse City West (21) and Loy Norrix (eight) placed sixth through eighth, respectively.
“We as coaches are absolutely thrilled with how this team performed today,” Allegan coach Damien Arthur said. “We had some very tough draws for our singles flights, but we knew we could still compete with these bigger or state-ranked teams.”
Allegan picked up two wins in seven of its eight flights. Joining the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams with a pair of victories were: No. 1 singles Grace Clearwater (third place); No. 2 singles Addy Fales (fifth place); No. 3 singles Bristyn Neldon (fifth place); No. 2 doubles Ragen Meeter/Grace Davis (fifth place); and No. 4 doubles Lilly Dame/Hanna Kievit (third place).
“We schedule this type of tournament knowing we would not be favored to win it, or even take runner-up,” Arthur said. “We do it to get us ready for matches that matter the most, such as ranked dual opponents, the conference tournament and the ever-so-important regionals.
“It’s what Allegan has done for a long time: get your butt kicked in April to make some noise in May. We’re very excited to see how our next couple of weeks pan out with D3 No. 9 Holland Christian, D3 No. 6 Lakeshore, and D2 No. 7 BC Lakeview coming to town.”
Two days earlier, the Tigers traveled to Schoolcraft for a SAC match and cruised to the 8-0 win.
Clearwater (No. 1 singles) and Fales (No. 2 singles) each posted 6-0, 6-0 wins, while No. 1 doubles Hailey Fuller/Kuebler won 6-0, 6-2 and No. 4 doubles Dame/Kievit won 6-1, 6-1.
The Tigers didn’t lose any more than four games at any flight.