For the first time in school history, the South Lyon East Boys Tennis Team has beaten perennial LVC contender Walled Lake Northern.  The East Boys used another fantastic performance by their doubles teams and clutch play from the top of the lineup to overcome a youthful Walled Lake Northern Squad 6 matches to 3 on Sept. 9th at the South Lyon East tennis courts.

Cameron Crosby was the first to down his opponent.  He had another convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory over a quality freshman.  Mason Long & Trevor Perl were in the midst of a solid start, up 4-0, when their opponents had to retire due to an injury.  Martin Bande and Dylan Zischerk at 4 doubles were the next to put a win on the board, downing their oponents 7-5, 6-1. 

These matches put East up 3-0, but Northern came roaring back.  Their first win was over Ben King at 3 singles, 6-1, 6-2.  They then got the win over Brayden Erwin at 4 singles, 6-2, 6-4.  They pulled even with a win over the solid 1 doubles team of Aarav Contractor and Connor Christensen.

This leveled the match at 3-3, but the East boys dug deep in the final 3 matches.  Nick Groene and Ashwanth Vijayan were the first to post a victory, winning a tightly contested match 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.  Team co-captain, Danny Stack, then posted a victory-sealing win in an epic fight 2 1/2 hour fight: 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.  This was a contest of sheer will with the East Captain coming out on top.  James Witkowski and Krish Venkatachalam rounded out the 6-3 match score with a hard fought victory in another epic battle: 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-4.

The final play came from a couple of exhibition matches.  Anish Rao & Ethan Rude easily defeated their counterparts 6-0, 6-2.  Dev Nimmala, in a rare singles match, fought hard and won in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

The team's next matches are in a unique "compass-draw" format against 7 other teams in the Milford Invitational being held this Saturday at Milford, Walled Lake Northern and Lakeland High Schools.  Player reporting time is 8:00 AM with matches starting at 8:20 AM.

The team would again like to thank all of the parents and fans who came out to support and cheer for the East Players.

#BeEast