EDWARDSBURG — A win wasn’t enough Monday for Edwardsburg boys tennis player Ben Weaver in his No. 3 singles match against Dowagiac’s Ethan Wagner.

Weaver wanted perfection.

That appeared unlikely in the second set when Weaver, who led, 6-0, 5-0, trailed Wagner, 40-0, in his attempt to close out the match.

“I didn’t want him to win a game,” said Weaver.

The Edwardsburg junior picked up his game and accomplished his goal as he rallied to win the second set, 6-0, to improve to 6-1 on the year.

Weaver has been part of a rebuilt Edwardsburg boys tennis team, which beat Dowagiac, 7-1, in Wolverine Conference West Division action on Monday. The win improved the defending division champion Eddies to 3-0-1 in the West Division and 4-3-1 overall. The Chieftains fell to 2-2 in the division and 3-2 overall.

“In the last game I was losing focus,” Weaver said. “I was watching the other matches and seeing where they were at. Then I said, ‘Oh no, I’m down 40-0’. I got in the game, got my head straight and took the last points.”

Weaver, who was the No. 1 singles player last year for the junior varsity, has made a smooth transition to the varsity.

“I’m just playing my game,” Weaver said. “The one loss is to Elkhart Central. That was a tough match.”

“I think he keeps the ball in play,” said Edwardsburg boys tennis coach Mark Zarycki on why Weaver has been successful. “He keeps the points going and doesn’t go for too much and knows his limitations. He’s going to push up to two or one singles (next year).”

Zarycki needed Weaver and other young tennis players to step up this year to replace the eight starters lost from last year’s squad.

“No one was expecting us to be competitive in the conference because we lost eight seniors,” Weaver said. “It’s kind of unexpected. But, hey, it’s been fun.”

Having fun with Weaver on Monday were victorious teammates Jordan Douglas (No. 1 singles), Brendon Handy (No. 2 singles), Jacob Kanaby (No. 4 singles), Marcus Colon and Devin Dosmann (No. 2 doubles), Adam Kozinski and Ryan Rogers (No. 3 doubles) and Tevin Alexander and Jacob Lahyer (No. 4 doubles). All those players won in two sets.

“I like the way our doubles are playing,” Zarycki said. “Two through four put their matches away really quick. They won in two sets which is really impressive. No. 1 doubles keeps working hard and battling. They went to three sets and I was proud of them. My singles also did a nice job today. We took some positive steps up all the way through our team.”

Dowagiac’s lone win came at No. 1 doubles where Mitch Warsko and David Brogan outlasted Joe Queener and Chris Jones, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

“They’ve been playing tough all year,” said Dowagiac coach Sonny Swartz. “They’re undefeated in the conference.”

Swartz wasn’t happy with how his team performed overall.

“I thought we would come out and play a little better,” Swartz said. “I thought we came out a little flat. We had two days off because of the rain and didn’t practice. Edwardsburg’s a tough team, but I think we can give a little better effort the next time we face them.”

 

Dowagiac…1

Edwardsburg…7

Singles

1. Jordan Douglas (E) beat Zach Davis, 7-5, 6-2; 2. Brendon Handy (E) beat Jordan Hagemann, 7-5 (7-4), 6-2; 3. Ben Weaver (E) beat Ethan Wagner, 6-0, 6-0; 4. Jacob Kanaby (E) beat Vaughn Herter, 6-1, 6-1

 

Doubles

1. Mitch Warsko-David Brogan (D) beat Joe Queener-Chris Jones, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3; 2. Marcus Colon-Devin Dosmann (E) beat Jennings Brosnan-Tony Kidman, 6-0, 6-2; 3. Adam Kozinski-Ryan Rogers (E) beat Justin Yakim-Steven Kruger, 6-0, 6-0; 4. Tevin Alexander-Jacob Lahyer (E) beat Josh Follet-Ben Herter, 6-0, 6-0