BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Wolves opened the fall season with a second place finish at the Novi Invitational, Aug. 15.
“It was a good day,” said Clarkston Boys Varsity Tennis Head Coach Chas Claus. “It was the first day of competition for the year, and it was a pretty good outing for us. I was pretty pleased.”
Novi finished in first place with 22 points as the Wolves earned 17 points for second place. Rockford finished with 12 points for third place and Grand Blanc took fourth place with three points.

Clarkston earned gold medals on all four of the Singles courts as they went undefeated.
“We bring back our same four Singles players from last year,” Claus added. “They were all excellent last year. All four are among the top players in the state in their flight. Being able to bring back a line up of that caliber is such a luxury for me. Not only to have guys who are very good, but have experience of the highest levels. They played real well.”
Junior Luke Baylis on Singles No. 1 court defeated Novi, 6-3, 6-3; Rockford, 6-0, 6-1; and Grand Blanc, 6-0, 6-0. Senior Jacob Burkett on Singles No. 2 court defeated Novi, 6-0, 6-3; Rockford, 6-0, 6-0; and Grand Blanc, 6-0, 6-0. Junior Frank Piana on Singles No. 3 court defeated Novi, 6-0, 6-0; Rockford, 6-0, 6-0; and Grand Blanc, 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Noah Fasczewski on Singles No. 4 defeated Novi, Rockford and Grand Blanc all with 6-0, 6-0.
Most of the doubles players are returning from last year, but combinations of teams have changed and some have moved up in the lineup.
Senior Evan Walsh and junior Nicholas Rouman finished in second place for the day. They won two of their three matches on Doubles No. 4 court. They defeated Rockford, 2-6, 6-3, 10-3; and Grand Blanc 7-6(5), 6-1.
“They were playing together for the first time,” said Claus. “They had a real good day.”
Senior Max Meehan and junior Jed Horst finished in second place in a 3-way tie. They defeated Grand Blanc, 7-5, 6-7(6), 11-9 on Doubles No. 2 court.
Claus added it was a good measurement to see what the boys need to work on and what they can do.
“The seasons always have a rhythm to them and for most of these boys they have been playing against each other all summer,” he said. “They have been playing against each other through tryouts and practices. It’s nice to see some different faces. You can sometimes lose your edge playing your friends every day.”
The Wolves head to a quad on Wednesday at Detroit Country Day. Then, they host the Clarkston Invitational on Saturday, 8 a.m.
“It’s always a good tournament,” Claus said. “We have some excellent teams that come in. We get to see a lot of schools we may only see once a year but some very good schools. It’s a nice chance to see where we stand against a variety of opponents. We hope to do well. It’s more about the flight by flight growth and see if each flight can take another step or two in growth as opposed to focus being how the team’s number add up in the end.”

  Boys Varsity Tennis, Clarkston Boys Varsity Tennis