The Wayland tennis team Wednesday lost 6-2 to O-K Gold Conference rival Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, but the scores of the matches were close.

Coach Ben Adams said, “While Wayland lost, the individual game scores tell a tale of tennis matches that were very close, with three of the eight matches going to full third set tie-breakers.

At fourth doubles, Asher Hendricks and Malcolm Sheffer split the first two sets, then lost 6-3 in the third set. At third doubles, the freshman team of Spencer Miller and Brycen Rookus also split their first two sets, then came up just short in the third, 7-5.

There were a couple bright spots for the Wildcats, Adams said.

At first doubles, Mason Babiak and Brayden Tomson handled the Trojans, winning 6-1, 6-2 to move their O-K Gold Conference record to 2-1 and their individual records to 6-3 and 7-2, respectively.

The match of the day belonged to fourth singles player Jacob VanDuine, playing for a grueling three hours and 25 minutes in 85-degree heat.

“Jacob won the first set 6-1 and was seemingly ready to cruise to a two-set win,” the coach said. “But TK senior Anson Verlinde would not go quietly and took the second set 7-6, forcing the conference match to a full third set. In the third set, with both players battling fatigue and heat exhaustion, Jacob’s disciplined approach and consistency were enough to come out ahead 6-3.”  

The Wildcats travel to Northview for their fourth conference match this season Monday, Sept. 16.