If Clarkston has a tough time with two of its opponents at the Oakland Activities Association division II boys tennis meet this weekend, it could be forgiven to a certain extent.
The Wolves should have completed their intra-league games at this point, but due to rainouts they have yet to play league foe Stoney Creek.
‘We would like to win,? Clarkston coach Chaz Claus said.
?(Troy) Athens is the favorite going in, but I expect everyone else to be pretty even. On a good day, Athens could be caught. We would just like to prove that we’re a better team than others. We squeaked out a win against Rochester and we tied Farmington, we would like to prove something there and beat them.?
The Redhawks? depth and a disappointing performance from Clarkston (3-2-1) resulted in a 6-2 Athens win early this season. Only singles players Brett McMillen (3) and Erik Ejups (4) escaped with victories.
‘They are easily the deepest team in the league. Their doubles teams are very strong and they just get stronger down the lineup,? Claus said.
‘We played worse against Athens than just about any other match we played all year.
‘I would expect that we could come out and play a whole lot better now that the weather is warmer and we’ve been hitting a little more consistently.?
Clarkston’s No. 1 singles player Chris Graczyk is expected to play well in a tough field. Claus sees Stoney Creek’s lead singles player as the favorite.
‘We haven’t seen him, but we know he is an elite player. Beyond that, No. 1 singles is a flight that is pretty open,? Claus said.
Graczyk, who was forced to leave the Wolves? match with Farmington with a stiff hip, should be recuperated.
‘He played really well yesterday and with the rain and all the missed days of tennis, he’s had a lot of time to rest it, which is unfortunate and fortunate in some ways,? Claus said.
‘It was unexpected and hopefully it’s healed as opposed to being something that could come around in the future again.?
Claus expects to see a resurgent effort from Clarkston’s doubles teams throughout the rest of the season.
‘Clarkston’s had traditionally strong doubles and I’d like to see us regain that reputation,? he said.
‘We’ve played okay at doubles, we’ve battled a lot of teams at many flights. In the past years, the lower end doubles is what we’ve depended on for a lot of our points and that hasn’t necessarily been the case this year. I would hope in the next couple weeks we could turn it around and move from good play to excellent play.?
In a make-up match Friday against Lake Orion, the Wolves won 6-2. The OAA II win pulled them to 2-1-1 in the league this season.
All four flights were victorious on the singles side and No.’s 1 and 2 doubles also won.
Against Rochester Adams May 2 in an OAA crossover match, the Highlanders had the Wolves? number across the board, winning 8-0.
‘They were the better team. We battled them at a couple flights, but we couldn’t put it together at any one flight to get a win out of it,? Claus said.
‘You’re playing up a league, and you would like to win, but you’d also just like to see everyone play well, which we did at some flights.?