Losing a few players off of any team is tough, but losing 10 off a team that only plays 12 is about as difficult a task as any.
But that’s the task facing coach Eric Bracciano and his girls tennis squad at Lake Orion High School.
The Dragons will have to replace their first-ever state qualifier, Anne Sauer, an exchange student who returned home to Germany for her senior year.
‘Losing a player like Anne will definitely hurt,? Bracciano said.
Sauer’s only loss last year came in the Division I state finals.
The team also lost junior Caitlin Young, a regional runner-up who moved to Florida.
‘We also lost eight seniors off of last year’s team,? Bracciano said.
Most of those seniors led a strong Dragons? doubles attack. Seven doubles players and #4 singles player Kristin Limback all graduated.
That left Bracciano with #3 singles player Allison Diven and senior Katie Rice as his most experienced returnees. The two will play at one and two singles, respectively, this season.
‘We’re a little inexperienced, but we’ve competed well so far,? Bracciano said.
The Dragons started strong, notching wins over Waterford Kettering (5-3) and Farmington Hills Harrison (7-1).
In both victories, the team’s doubles pairs all went undefeated – an impressive task considering they have only one player among them with any prior varsity experience.
Rain has since tampered with the Dragons, who play all but one of their remaining matches in the OAA II.
In addition to being rained out against Andover on Sep

Losing a few players off of any team is tough, but losing 10 off a team that only plays 12 is about as difficult a task as any.
But that’s the task facing coach Eric Bracciano and his girls tennis squad at Lake Orion High School.
The Dragons will have to replace their first-ever state qualifier, Anne Sauer, an exchange student who returned home to Germany for her senior year.
‘Losing a player like Anne will definitely hurt,? Bracciano said.
Sauer’s only loss last year came in the Division I state finals.
The team also lost junior Caitlin Young, a regional runner-up who moved to Florida.
‘We also lost eight seniors off of last year’s team,? Bracciano said.
Most of those seniors led a strong Dragons? doubles attack. Seven doubles players and #4 singles player Kristin Limback all graduated.
That left Bracciano with #3 singles player Allison Diven and senior Katie Rice as his most experienced returnees. The two will play at one and two singles, respectively, this season.
‘We’re a little inexperienced, but we’ve competed well so far,? Bracciano said.
The Dragons started strong, notching wins over Waterford Kettering (5-3) and Farmington Hills Harrison (7-1).
In both victories, the team’s doubles pairs all went undefeated – an impressive task considering they have only one player among them with any prior varsity experience.
Rain has since tampered with the Dragons, who play all but one of their remaining matches in the OAA II.
In addition to being rained out against Andover on Sep