By By STEVE MORRISON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – On a cool, breezy evening on Monday evening at Niles High School not much blew in the right direction for the Viking boys' tennis team.
Mattawan's Wildcats dominated both singles and doubles matches on the way to an 8-0 victory.
To compound matters, Niles had temporarily lost the services of No. 4 singles player Adam Jenkins due to a sprained ankle that he suffered in a varsity soccer game against Buchanan, last week. He was on crutches all last week and was sitting in an ankle brace on the sidelines last night.
Mattawan No. 1 singles player Michael Reiter was notably impressive with a fine array of steady serves, while spraying returns all over the court. He seemed impervious in several long volleys that Niles Jordan parks threw at him to try courageously to get back into the match.
Parks started out with a 1-0 lead in set two, but Reiter came on strong 6-2 to capture the win.
In doubles the Lewallen brothers, Chris and Alex, put up another staunch effort, this time against Mattawan's Barry Chapman and Mike Hoyle. After the Wildcat's twosome had won the first set 6-2, the Lewallens came back to tie the second match 3-3, only to surrender 6-4 at the end.
Niles coach Jill Weber was excited regardless of the outcome.
"We lost nine seniors last year. These guys are still the hardest-working team, I've ever had. I still have lots to teach (about tennis) to them. They stayed after the match and practiced more tonight. I'm excited for the future. We're trying to get ready for Wednesday's match against powerhouse St. Joseph."
With persistent dedication from coach Weber and a strong work ethic from her players there are sunnier days ahead, when the winds blow favorably for the Viking's team ship.
Mattawan…8
Niles…0
Singles
1. Michael Reiter (M) d. Jordan Parks 6-0, 6-2; 2. Alan Smola (M) d. Zach Payne 6-1, 6-0; 3. Joel Smola (M) d. Matt Ftacek 6-1, 6-0; 4. Logan Weidman (M) d. Chris Archer 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Eric Werner/Zach Steen (M) d. Kyle Lee/Dustin Jankoviak 6-0, 6-1; 2. Geoff Kirklin/Austin Thompson (M) d. Brad Benjamin/Jordan Arnold 6-0, 6-1; Brian Willie/Mike Wallace (M) d. Anthony Gladden/Ricky Briand 6-0, 6-0; 4. Barry Chapman/Mike Hoyle d. Alex Lewallen/Chris Lewallen 6-2, 6-4