The Hastings girls tennis team opened the season with a demanding slate of duals, taking on Park, East Ridge, and Eastview in its first week of play. The Raiders came away with three identical 5-2 losses, but the record alone doesn’t tell the whole story. From the top of the lineup came steady dominance, while the rest of the roster saw valuable match experience against some of the toughest competition in the area.
Leading the way were sisters Brooklyn and Reese Keller, who looked right at home in their spots at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Both players started the year unbeaten, sweeping through their matches with control and confidence. Brooklyn dropped only two games across three duals, beginning with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Park’s Camilla Brooks. She then eased past East Ridge’s Julia Simone, 6-0, 6-1, before closing the week with another near-flawless 6-0, 6-1 win against Eastview’s Sai Gajjala. Reese followed the same path, blanking Park’s Evelyn Johnson, 6-0, 6-0, then handling East Ridge’s Saahithi Maddukuri, 6-1, 6-1. She finished the opening stretch with a sharp 6-0, 6-1 victory over Eastview’s Charlene Xu.
The Kellers’ reliability has given Hastings a strong foundation at the top, and their early-season play has already set a tone of consistency for the rest of the roster.
Further down the singles lineup, the Raiders found themselves locked into closer battles. At No. 3 singles, Evy Hogan faced tough opponents in each match, but her fight was clear. Against East Ridge’s Indira Bagal, Hogan stayed within striking distance in both sets, dropping a tight 6-2, 6-4 match. At No. 4 singles, both Nolee Kochendorfer and Samantha Seaman rotated in. Kochendorfer pushed East Ridge’s Madeline Kollm to a competitive second set before falling 6-1, 6-4, while Seaman fought hard in her debut against Eastview’s Kaatje Degrote, ultimately losing 6-1, 6-0. These matches may not have swung Hastings’ way, but the glimpses of resilience suggest the middle of the lineup is building toward stronger results.
In doubles, Hastings is still looking for the right combinations. The Raiders fell in straight matches against all three opponents, though there were flashes of chemistry and momentum that could pay off later in the season. Against Park, the No. 1 pairing of Emery Hedeen and Sophia Johnson made the second set close before dropping 6-0, 6-4. The No. 2 duo of Wills Nelson and Nolee Kochendorfer also showed stretches of strong play in a 6-1, 6-3 loss.
Against East Ridge, Hastings’ No. 3 team of Jenna Brommerich and Annie Majeski came the closest to pulling out a victory. After splitting sets, they battled into a super tiebreak before falling 10-4, giving the Raiders their tightest doubles match of the young season.
Eastview presented another tough test, as the Lightning swept through all three doubles spots. Still, the matches gave Hastings’ pairs valuable experience in live competition, a key ingredient for a team that has plenty of new faces stepping into varsity roles.
While Hastings has started the season on the wrong side of the win column, the early duals offered plenty of takeaways. The Kellers’ perfect opening week is a clear strength, giving the Raiders points at the top of every lineup. At the same time, the middle singles spots are showing promise in stretches, and the doubles rotations—though not yet producing wins—are gaining court time and confidence.
With the season still in its early stages, the Raiders have opportunities ahead to fine-tune their pairings and build momentum. If they can turn narrow losses into wins, especially in doubles, those 5-2 results could quickly tilt the other way.
For now, Hastings knows it has two anchors in Brooklyn and Reese, and the rest of the team is building around them. The foundation is set, and the challenge now is to carry that stability through the full lineup.