Whitehall’s boys tennis team made a good run in the Coastal Conference tournament Saturday on its home courts, but the Vikings fell just short of capturing the title.
Ludington came away with the championship, as the Orioles finished with 39 points. Whitehall was second with 37 points, followed by North Muskegon third with 34 points.
Whitehall’s No. 1 doubles team was unable to participate in the morning matches because of a scheduling conflict, which relegated the Vikings to fifth place at that flight. A full roster may have been enough to put the Vikings over the top, but coach Greg McManus was still pleased with his team’s performance.
“As a team, the guys played their best tournament all year,” he said.
Standout highlights for Whitehall included Ashton Trnka breezing through the competition to claim a No. 1 singles title. Vikings No. 2 singles player River Morrison defeated Western Michigan Christian after losing to his Warriors opponent twice previously this season.
In addition, Whitehall’s No. 2 doubles team of Griffin Lownds and Owen Bass took down a strong Ludington duo, which had just defeated them 6-2, 6-1 two weeks prior.
Whitehall prepares for the Division 3 regional competition as the Vikings travel to Forest Hills Eastern on Wednesday.
OVERALL TEAM SCORES
1st: Ludington 39
2nd: Whitehall 37
3rd: North Muskegon 34 pts
4th: Western Michigan Christian 26 pts.
5th: Grant 20
6th: Fremont 10
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT RESULTS
Singles:
No. 1 singles: Ashton Trnka, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL def. Troy McManus, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL, 6-2 , 6-1
No. 2 singles: River Morrison, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL def. Sam Liggett, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, 6-3 , 6-1
No. 3 singles: Ethan Koman, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL def. Rob Hentschel, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, 6-2 , 6-2v
No 4 singles: Reece Ward, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL def. Luke Hall, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL, 6-3 , 6-0
Doubles:
No 1. doubles: Robby Killips, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL – Jack Stidham, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL def. Grayson Hinton, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL – Gus West, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL, 6-1 , 6-2
No 2. doubles: Griffin Lownds, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – Owen Bass, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL def. Gavin Grimm, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL – Will Ripple, NORTH MUSKEGON HIGH SCHOOL, 6-4 , 6-1
No 3. doubles:Jacob Johnston, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL – Gabe Hogenson, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL def. Brayden Bishop, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – Brady Tate, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, 6-0 , 6-1
No 4 doubles: Nathaniel Seymour, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL – Andrew Barz, LUDINGTON HIGH SCHOOL def. Patrick Cole, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – Jonathan Hall, WHITEHALL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, 6-0 , 6-0