Hey WO Tennis Family, Yesterday our girls did something incredible, winning their 8th straight Regional Championship! Not only that, but they did it in style. There are ten teams in the region. The top 2 teams automatically qualify for the state finals. Additional teams may qualify if they score 18 points or more. In our region, we had 3 teams qualify... Byron Center finished the day with 19 points and qualified on points. Rockford finished the day with 21 points and qualified by taking second place. West Ottawa finished the day with 28 points and qualified by winning the event. (Note: The most points a team can possibly earn is 32) As individuals there were many great performances. Here's a rundown of each flight: 1 Singles: Evie Price beat Caledonia in the quarters, defeated Jenison in the semi's, then completed the day with a 3 set victory over Rockford to stake her claim as the best overall tennis player in the region. Outcome: Regional Champ 2 Singles: Izzy Gitler beat East Kentwood in the quarters, then Rockford in the semis, before defeating a junior from Byron Center who has committed to play volleyball for Nebraska. The match was one of the most athletic contests I've ever seen on a court. Outcome: Regional Champ. 3 Singles: Sydney Shafer defeated Grand Haven in the quarterfinals, following that up with a victory over Byron Center. In the finals, Sydney won in convincing fashion over a talented Rockford player. Outcome: Regional Champ. 4 Singles: Maggie Rothstein beat East Kentwood in the quarters. After that, she defeated Hudsonville. In the finals, Maggie defeated Rockford 6-0, 6-0. On the day, Maggie won a total of 36 games and lost 1 total game. Wow! Outcome: Regional Champ. 1 Doubles: Kallyn Gall and Lovelle Kim made sure that one doubles was a particularly exciting flight. Seeded 4th, they were expected by the seeds to lose in the semifinals...but they chose to flip the script. In the quarters, they did as expected, beating Union and advancing to the semis. This is where they decided to forge their own path, beating Caledonia in the semifinals. In the championship match, they once again played high level tennis. They took Byron center to three long sets before Byron Center pulled head in the end. An incredible and inspiring day for Kallyn and Lovelle. Outcome: Regional Finalist 2 Doubles: Hope Hughes and Haylee Geerlings defeated Grandville in the quarterfinals. In the semis, they faced Grand Haven where they were also victors. That put them in the regional finals where they dropped a hard fought match to Rockford. Outcome: Regional Finalist 3 Doubles: Audrey Anderson and Olivia Smith moved through the quarters by beating Caledonia. In their semifinal matchup, they squared off against Rockford, beating them and advancing to the finals. In the finals, Audrey and Olivia beat Grand Haven. Outcome: Regional Champions 4 Doubles: Mallory Paff and Hope Hughes began their day with a win over Grandville in the quarterfinals. In the semis, the pair fell to a talented crew from Byron Center. Outcome: Regional Semifinalists. The win at Regionals means our girls will once again advance to the State Finals, now for the 9th straight year. Along they way, they will play East Grand Rapids and Forest Hills Central over the next two weeks in matches to stay sharp and continue to grow and improve. I hope it goes without saying, but what these young women are doing is nothing short of incredible. They have so much to be proud of and so much going for them in life in general. It's a true privilege to be their coach. Congratulations ladies! -Coach Pete Schwallier