Ludington tennis season comes to an end at MHSAA state finals

But, the Orioles didn’t quite make it, falling short in the team competition. Ludington finished in a 12th place tie with Holland. Both teams finished with six points.

Taking the top spot after the first day was Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook with 24 points. Second place went to Ann Arbor Greenhills with 22 and third place was Detroit Country Day with 21 points.

Ludington junior Reece Ward advanced to Saturday as an individual, getting past the first round against Josh Tomlinson of Stevensville Lakeshore, 6-3 and 7-6 (8) in the No. 4 singles flight. Ward earned the right to play the tournament’s second seed at No. 4 singles, Amaan Khan of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook and lost a 0-6, 0-6 straight set match in round two.

Ludington picked up a win at No. 2 singles where Robby Killips turned back Cole Sova of Fowerville in two sets, 6-1 and 6-4. But he then lost in the second round in two sets, 0-6 and 1-6 to Ian Pinnoo of St. Clair.

Another player who made it to the second round Friday was Ludington’s junior Jack Stidham at No. 3 singles. He advanced with a bye then defeated Zeeland West’s James Stewart 6-4 and 6-3.

But the end for Stidham came in the third round, where he faced top-seed Kabir Rajendra of Ann Arbor Greenhills and was defeated.

Seniors Nathan Reisterer and Andrew Barz, the Orioles’ No. 1 doubles flight, didn’t get past the first round as they were eliminated by the DeWitt pair of Diego Canales and Kaleb Casler in three sets, 4-6, 6-1 and 7-6 (5).

At No. 2 doubles, the Orioles’ duo of Chaz Leonard and Andre Walden reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Reece Carlson and Aiden Hamilon of Hamilton.

Going up against the sixth-seeded doubles team of Kyle Hong and Raj Rao of Detroit Country Day, the Orioles duo saw their season end in the second round.

The Orioles picked up another win at No. 3 doubles when Will James and Rylan Miretti turned back Dhruv Thakur and Lukas Krutz of Auburn Hills Avondale in two sets, 6-1, 6-2.

Unfortunately, they, too, were knocked out in the second round, when Zeeland West’s combo of Diego Mendoza and Max Settlemyre defeated them.

Ludington’s No. 4 doubles flight of juniors Zach Walunas and Christian Serna saw their season end in the first round with a 1-6 and 0-6 loss to Harper Prutch and Owen Baer of Holland.