The Reeths-Puffer girls tennis team has been battling through a lot of close matches lately, but Monday was a tough detour for the Rockets.
They fell 9-0 to Jenison in an O-K Green conference matchup that kicked off a busy week for the team.
The match was not quite as one-sided as the final score suggests. The Rockets won their share of games, and pushed the Wildcats to three sets in two flights.
Mylie Neel (No. 4 singles) lost her first set to Jimena Castro 6-3, won the second 7-5, but dropped the third 6-3.
Elana Weiden and Lauren Matz (No. 2 doubles) won their first set 6-3, but lost the last two 6-4, 6-4.
The Rockets will host Muskegon Catholic Central on Tuesday, then will visit Ludington on Saturday.
"Rough night for the Rockets, in miserable conditions - cold temps and blustery winds - and almost no players found their competitive fire against the Wildcats," said R-P head coach Ryan Hankinson. "
"Huge credit goes to our two doubles flight of Elana Weiden and Lauren Matz, who won their first set before dropping very close ones. Mylie Neel was again the last flight playing into the evening as she battled throughout her three-set match.
"We learned we have a ways to go to battle Jenison and Byron Center, the two strongest teams in the O-K Green. But the team is looking forward to playing some local non-conference competition before the GMAA Tournament on May 3."