Plymouth tennis falls in semi-final

CULVER — The Plymouth Boys Tennis Team travelled to Culver Academy Thursday night to play Knox in the Sectional Semi-Final Round, falling to the Redskins by a narrow 3-2 final score.
Plymouth swept the doubles courts Thursday, with the 1D team of Nick Manzuk-Owen Walleske and the 2D team of Benson Prater-Landon Tyler having little resistance on their courts. 1D won 6-0, 6-0, and 2D won 6-2, 6-1.
Shortly after that, Plymouth 2S player Jonah Rich fell to his opponent from Knox 6-0, 6-1 to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Pilgrims, with tight matches being contested at 1S and 3S.
Pilgrim 1S player Liam Hanyzewski faced a big deficit early, losing the first set, but battled back to take the second set and force the deciding third set. Liam would ultimately fall in a close three-set match at 1 Singles 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, which would set the stage for the deciding 3S match.
The longest match of the night came at 3S, where normal Plymouth 1 JV Singles player Logan Nelson filled in for normal Plymouth 3S player Caleb Edmiston, who was home ill and unable to compete. Logan filled in admirably on Thursday, winning a back-and-forth opening set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-1). Then, after falling behind 2-0 to start the second set, Logan won five of the next six games to take a 5-3 lead. Logan’s opponent from Knox then responded and took the next four games to win the second set 7-5 and set the stage for a deciding set to determine both the individual and team match. Hoekman from Knox would ride some early momentum in the third set and take the final set 6-1 for the match, clinching the Sectional win for the Redskins.
It was a tough end to the season for the Pilgrims. Despite the final team record, they showed a lot of improvement throughout the season and across the lineup, but match inexperience was a continual downfall for the Pilgrims. By virtue of their win on Thursday, the Plymouth 1D team of Seniors Nick Manzuk and Owen Walleske will continue on in the Individual Doubles Tournament. Nick and Owen will likely play next Tuesday during Team Regional play with opponent, place, and time to be determined.
“Overall, it was a hard-fought match, especially at 1S and 3S, and a team match that could have certainly gone either way. I thought our guys competed hard tonight. Both doubles teams performed well today and won their matches quickly. Liam did a nice job battling back after an opening set loss, which was a positive as well,” said Plymouth coach Brad Haeck. “Logan really battled and fought hard in his match. To be thrown into a Varsity singles position tonight with very little warning and compete like he did, I think he still has a lot to be proud of despite the loss. He has come a long way from picking up a tennis racket for the first time three months ago and has shown tremendous improvement this season.”
“But still a tough end of the season for us. It’s always tough to end your season after you invest so much time and effort into it.”