The rivalry between the West Ottawa and Rockford tennis programs has historically been a fierce battle of two perennial powerhouse teams in not only the OK-Red but West Michigan as well. On any given year either team can beat the other and its always one of the most intense matches of the season for both schools. West Ottawa last took down this duel in 2023 with a 7-2 win. Rockford has had the most recent victories winning in both the 2024 and the 2025 duels by the smallest of margins by a score of 5-4. The 2025 match was particularly close with West Ottawa hosting the event and it coming down to one final match that ended up going Rockfords way. Watching Rockford celebrate on our courts stung. Going into the 2026 season, the West Ottawa boys tennis program knew it would be another tough battle and it would be a total team effort to come out victorious, traveling away to Rockford this year to compete on their home courts. The message was to the team was simple. We aren't going to Rockford to defeat them. They need to defeat us. West Ottawa knew that if they played their brand of tennis - intense, powerful, and consistent, they are tough for anyone in the state to beat. We are the team to beat. Not them. Going into the match with a win/loss record of 11-3, the panthers had a lot of confidence as they took the courts. The three losses have all come from opponents ranked in the top 10 in the state. With 9 scoring flights competing all at once, the environment was electric. Both schools came out swinging and playing their best tennis. Rockford head coach Tom Huizing always prepares his teams extremely well and they play with more heart than almost any team around. As the afternoon got underway, there were close matches on almost every court. From here, we will recap each flight in the order they came off the courts First up to finish his match was Isaac Watkin at 3 singles. Isaac has punishing groundstrokes and a monster serve thats proving to be very difficult for almost all of his opponents to handle. Today was no different and Isaac cruised to a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory. The next victory came in the doubles line-up at 4 doubles. Thomas Diekevers and Landon Schwallier have developed very good chemistry on the court and faced a doubles team that on paper looked to be a strength of Rockfords line-up. Landons groundstrokes allow Thomas a lot of range up at the net and together they are extremely hard to play against. Taking down Rockford 6-0, 6-2 they joined Isaac in cheering on the rest of the team. Victory #3 came just one court over at 5 doubles for Blake Theobald and Gavin White. Both players have developed solid all around games that proved to be took much for Rockford and took another straight set victory 6-1, 6-2 for West Ottawa. Our doubles continued their winning ways (more on that in a bit) at 3 doubles as seniors Brody Sayrath and Ethan Byrd securing victory #4 in a row. Brody and Ethan both have big forehands and are some of the most athletic players we have on the team. At any given movement if they get a good look at a ball they can simply end a point. A tight match from start to finish, West Ottawa walked away with the 6-4, 6-4 win. With 4 matches completed, West Ottawa sat at 4 points, needing a 5th match to secure the team win. It should be no surprise that the next match to be done would be our 1 doubles flight. Senior Captain Lincoln Taylor and Dawson Linn have been lights out all season. Playing some of the best doubles West Ottawa has seen in recent memory, both Lincoln and Dawson are true doubles players in every sense. They understand where to be at all times and make the correct decision on almost every shot. Linccoln and Dawson won 7-5, 6-3 with this match being our 5th in a row and secure our team win. Though the team had secured the win, there were still 5 matches still competing. Playing an exhibition 6th doubles match, Ethan Gibson and James Flemming proved that even when the match doesn't count directly towards team points, every flight matters and every player on this team rises to the expectation. Playing in a tight match, Ethan and James ended up victorious in 3 sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 coming on strong at the end when it mattered most. 4 Singles ended up being our first loss of the day with Vini Dantas coming up short against a Rockford player with a very similar play style. Both players are incredibly consistent with Rockford having the edge today winning 6-3, 6-2. This will certainly be a rematch to watch later in the season. Our last victory of the day came at 2 doubles and featured Josh Reimink and Jonah Hoff. A tightly contested match, Josh and Jonah ended up winning in 3 sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. Both players have great feel at the net and proved to be too much for Rockford as they made the decision they were not going to be denied the victory. Tightening up their play in the 3rd set when it mattered most Josh and Jonah showed just why they are a force that cannot be stopped. At 2 singles, Jack Zernicke continues to develop as he moves into the singles lineup after playing 3 doubles last season. Rockford game storming out of the gate at this flight and took the first set 6-1. Jack doesn't know the word "quit" or "give up", regardless of the score. While dropping the second set and the match overall, Jack lost 7-5 showing a winning attitude and a never give up approach, regardless of how the first set went. Another match we will be looking forward to running back later in the season. The last match of the night featured both 1 singles players in a marquee matching that didn't disappoint. Soren Traver made the leap from 4 doubles to 1 singles in one year and is looking every bit like the 1 singles player he is. Pushing Rockford to 3 sets Soren ran out of gas at the end and ended up dropping the match 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Every school has a good 1 singles player and West Ottawa is no exception. Soren seems to be improving every time he steps on the court and we still have a lot of season left to keep getting better. When we look back at this match years from now, the one thing that will jump out is the sweep of the doubles line-up that West Ottawa had tonight. Rockford always fields a very competitive doubles roster that is tough to beat at every flight. In fact, its been almost 20 years since West Ottawa has swept Rockfords doubles lineup top to bottom. 2008 was the last time. 18 year ago. Most of the players on this team weren't even born yet. That's how long its been and how uncommon it is. That's also just how good this team is. Next up, West Ottawa will continue OK-Red Conference Play against Hudsonville at home Wednesday.