KINGSFORD — The Escanaba tennis team couldn’t pull off a victory against Kingsford, falling 6-2 here Tuesday. Four of the eight matches went to three sets, with Esky winning one.

“Christer Carne had his best match of the year,” Esky coach Tom Penegor said. “He played against Brett Hicks, who’s a big tennis player. That’s his primary sport, so he puts a lot of time into it. Carne did a good job as he fought back and played a smart tennis match.”

Carne dropped the first set of No. 1 singles to Hicks, but fought back before falling 1-6, 6-4, 1-6.

Two of the Eskymos’ doubles teams were newly formed.

“We mixed up our doubles teams a bit,” Penegor said. “It was the first time (Ian) Valentine and (Garrett) LaMarche played together. It worked out well. It was the same for No. 3 doubles. They had a real good competitive match that could’ve went either way.”

Esky’s Garret Johnson and Isaac Maki took No. 3 doubles to three sets, dropping the third 2-6.

Gunner Dlugas, the only singles winner for Escanaba, played his first No. 2 match and took the third set 6-4.

“Our No. 2 singles, Gunner, it was his first time playing at two, and he pulled out the only (singles) win,” Penegor said.

Shaun Beauchamp had the third three-set match at No. 4 singles. He started off taking the first set, but dropped the next two 5-7, 4-6.

“No. 2 and No. 4 singles were both very close,” Penegor said. “They were our longest matches, going over two hours.”

Penegor was happy with his team’s performance.

“It was a very close competition with Kingsford,” he said. “It shows we were very competitive. We just have to work harder and hopefully earn more of those three-setters to our favor. I was proud of how the kids played. We have a very young team, and these guys are learning.”

Escanaba hosts Munising today.

Singles

No. 1 — Hicks, K, def. Carne, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1; No. 2 — Dlugas, E, def. Perpich, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; No. 3 Boone, K, def. Mayville, 6-1, 6-3; No. 4 — Cano Sarobe, K, def. Beauchamp, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Doubles

No. 1 — Fortner-Kopp, K, def. Burch-Lord, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 — Valentine-Lamarche, E, def. Hellman-Moreau, 6-4, 6-2; No. 3 — Smith-Bracket, K, def. Johnson-Maki, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; No. 4 — Meneguzzo-Michaud, K, def. Young-Smale, 6-2, 6-3.