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Esky netters notch big invite win

Prep tennis

KINGSFORD — The Escanaba Eskymos earned a major tennis victory Saturday, edging Negaunee 18-17 for the Kingsford Invitational title. The host Flivvers had 15 points.

“I thought it was a major accomplishment,” said Esky coach Tom Penegor. “We needed every single point. It was nice to see it come together. Everybody contributed. This shows that hard work does pay off. We want to use this as motivation to continue to work hard.”

Esky won 3-of-4 doubles flights, with Paul Carne and Nick Dufour rallying past West Iron County’s Brandon Henschell-Kevin Ballinger 5-7, 6-2, 10-8 at No. 1.

Addam Claes-Brandon Kangas topped Negaunee’s Klay Ronn-Peyton Anderson 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 and Max Shariff-Dylan Rosenfeldt outlasted Negaunee’s Jake Larson-Evan Hassell 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in the No. 4 final.

“We won both sets on a tie-breaker,” said Penegor. “Winning No. 4 doubles was huge.”

Esky’s Josh Grassel captured the No. 2 singles crown with a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 10-7 triumph over Negaunee’s Luke Skewis.

“It was extremely close all day,” said Kingsford coach Mark Shanks. “There was a lot of three-set matches and tiebreakers.”

The six teams were divided into two pools – Escanaba, Kingsford and Iron Mountain in one; Negaunee, West Iron County and Menominee in the other.

After two dual matches in pool play, the players had cross-over matches, with the top individuals and doubles competing.

“Everybody gets three matches,” Shanks said. “This shows true team strength. On this day, Escanaba and Negaunee were a little stronger than us.”

The summary:

Escanaba 18, Negaunee 17, Kingsford 15, West Iron County 10, Menominee 9, Iron Mountain 3

Singles finals – 1. Alek Shanks, K, def. Jon Antilla, M, 6-4, 4-6, 10-2; 2. Josh Grassel, E, def. Luke Skewis, N, 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 10-7; 3. Nick McCole, K, def. Levi Kempka, M, 2-6, 6-1, 10-7; 4. Chas Kumpula, N, def. Mikhal Roell, K, 6-2, 6-3

Doubles finals – 1. Paul Carne-Nick Dufour, E, def. Brandon Henschel-Kevin Ballinger, WIC, 5-7 6-2 10-8; 2. Addam Claes-Branden Kangas, E, def. Klay Ronn-Peyton Anderson, N, 6-4, 6-1; 3. Jacob Talaga-Darius Provost, N, def. Reece Fortner-Ethan Fox, K, 7-5, 7-5; 4. Max Shariff-Dylan Rosenfeldt, E, def. Jake Larson-Evan Hassell, N, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

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