The Hastings Raiders boys tennis team saw its team season come to an end last week with a 6-1 loss to Cretin-Derham Hall in the opening round of the Section tournament on May 11. Hastings battled throughout the lineup and picked up a strong win at third singles, but the Raiders could not overcome the depth of the Raiders from Cretin-Derham Hall. With the team portion of the season complete, Hastings now shifts its attention to the individual Section tournament, which began May 18.
Cretin-Derham Hall claimed three singles victories and swept the doubles matches to secure the team win. Hastings earned its lone point at No. 3 singles, where Hunter Belford delivered one of the most exciting matches of the day. Belford opened with a tight 7-5 first-set win over Louis Bilek before dropping the second set 6-0. The Hastings junior regrouped in the deciding super tiebreaker and pulled out a hard-fought 10-8 victory to give the Raiders their only win of the match. It was a gritty performance from Belford, who stayed composed late and finished strong in a match that easily could have gone the other way.
At No. 1 singles, Gus Whitehill Conover faced a difficult challenge against Jackson Jewison. Jewison controlled the match early and earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory for Cretin-Derham Hall. At second singles, Ronan Traynor defeated Hastings’ Jens Kaufman by a 6-2, 6-1 score. Fourth singles also went to Cretin-Derham Hall as Henry Wengeleski defeated Matthew Maulucci 6-3, 6-2.
The doubles matches featured several competitive stretches, especially at second doubles where Hastings nearly picked up another point. Aidan Suarez Garcia and Joe Makowske dropped the opening set 6-0 against James Hamel and Teddy Larson, but the Hastings pair bounced back with a strong second set and evened the match with a 6-2 win. The deciding super tiebreaker stayed close throughout before Cretin-Derham Hall escaped with a 10-7 victory.
At first doubles, Micah Slapnicher and Zac Belford battled against Will Bischoff and Griffin Merrit. The Cretin-Derham Hall duo won the opening set 6-1, but Hastings responded with a much stronger effort in the second set. Slapnicher and Belford pushed the match late before falling 7-5 in the second set. Third doubles also featured competitive points as Tyler Pond and Isaac Hamann faced Rainor Kallok and Henry Lane. Cretin-Derham Hall secured the match 6-2, 6-4.
The final team score was Cretin-Derham Hall 6, Hastings 1. Hastings results included Hunter Belford earning a three-set victory at No. 3 singles, while the second doubles team of Suarez Garcia and Makowske pushed their match to a deciding tiebreaker. Although the Raiders were eliminated from the team tournament, several players finished the season with strong individual performances and continued improvement throughout the lineup.
Hastings now turns its attention to the individual Section tournament, which started May 18. Results from that tournament will be available in the next edition as Raiders players continue competing for opportunities to advance deeper into postseason play.