Hey WO Tennis Family, The matches that we choose when making our schedule each year follow one of 3 categories. First, conference opponents, then Division 1 schools who are in the top 10, and finally, local schools who are highly ranked in their respective divisions. Today's match fell into that third category. Currently ranked #2 in Division 2, Forest Hills Northern won the D2 state titles in both 2021 and 2024, and they field another excellent squad this year. The TennisReporting website is glitching right now, so I can't post specific scores, however here's an overview of how things went: Final Score: West Ottawa 3 Forest Hills Northern 5 Singles: Winners in singles were a pair of freshmen, Izzy Gitler at 2 singles and Sydney Shafer at 3 singles. The wind was whipping in this match, and both handled it well. For Izzy, that meant putting more height and spin on returns and it actually meant a focused effort to keep racket speed very high on the serve. She made both adjustments brilliantly and it paid off. For Sydney, it meant continuing to play her game. I'm sure she was well aware of the wind, but she was so confident in her stroking that it hardly mattered. Evie faced a familiar foe in Harriett Oglevie, a highly talented senior. Evie and Harriett have gone back and forth in their rivalry over the years, with Harriett getting the better of this exchange. At 4 singles, Maggie played a girl very similar to her....incredibly fast and consistent. The match was epic with Maggie falling just short at the end. All 4 singles players put up a strong effort. Doubles: Strong doubles was played at all 5 flights yesterday, and 3 doubles is where that strong play converted to a win. Sophomores Audrey Anderson and Olivia Smith dropped the first set, but figured things out, winning the second and forcing a decisive superbreaker up to 10 for the third, where they prevailed. A similar story played out at 4 doubles, but the tiebreaker went the other way. At 1 and 2 and 5 doubles the play was high level tennis. Very high level tennis. While Northern got the better of the matches, this level of tennis will allow us to beat the vast majority of teams face, even many ranked opponents. The weather is showing rain today, so it's uncertain whether or not a match with Grand Haven will happen. If it does, that will be our 4th OK-Red duel of the season. If the weather does what it says it'll do, we may be rescheduling:) Thanks girls for a hard-fought match with Northern, these are great learning experiences and opportunities for growth. -Coach Pete