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THREE RIVERS — The Niles varsity boys’ tennis team lived dangerously in Wednesday’s Wolverine Conference opener at Three Rivers. 

With three matches remaining, Jill Weber’s Vikings trailed the host Wildcats 4-1. 

But Niles rebounded to capture wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to earn itself a 4-4 tie.

Weber was proud of how the Vikings kept their composure under adverse conditions and won those last three matches in three sets.

At No. 1 singles, Elias Babler from Niles pulled out a thrilling 5-7, 6-3. 6-4 win over Jack Miller of Three Rivers.

“Elias is a patient player and is always honing in on his shots and what he has to do, he executes and stays very positive,” Weber said.  

The Vikings’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Jack Badman and Paxton Daniel defeated Three Rivers’ duo of Justin McDonald and Theo Herrman 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.

“That was a real key win for Jack and Paxton being able to pull out a tough three-set match,” Weber said.  

Niles’ No. 2 duo of Wyatt Mitchell and Rylan Custard edged Alex Nowak and Parker Bingaman 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.

“This was a good win for us. We had already seen Three Rivers at our own six-team tournament that we won. They (Three Rivers) came out and played very well today,” Weber said. 

Niles is now 2-0-1 overall and 1-0 in the league. 

At No. 2 singles, Logan Paluzzi from Niles lost to Three Rivers’ Jay Nowak 3-6, 0-6. 

At No. 3 singles, Abner Lazada from Niles dropped a 3-6, 4-6 decision to Three Rivers’ Cameron Mccolley 1-6, 1-6. 

In the No. 4 singles flight, Niles’ Stephen Applewhite earned 6-1, 6-1 win over Brayden Williams from Three Rivers. 

“Stephen is new to his position, but he’s picking things up very well,” Weber said. 

At No. 3 doubles, Niles’ duo of Seth Smith and Brian Young lost to Three Rivers’ Nick Karabestos and Alex Karabestos 3-6, 4-6. 

Niles” No. 4 doubles team of Ryan Atkins and Shane Hiles recorded a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ebin Perkins and Bibhab Sama from Three Rivers.

“We have a pretty solid team and this group worked really hard over the summer,” Weber said. 

Three Rivers coach Mike Kupiec was pleased with his squad despite the tie.

“We are a really young team after losing seven players from last season’s team. There are some kids who are playing two or three positions higher in our lineup than they normally should,” Kupiec said. “We are doing better than I anticipated when the season began though.”

THREE RIVERS — The Niles varsity boys’ tennis team lived dangerously in Wednesday’s Wolverine Conference opener at Three Rivers. 

With three matches remaining, Jill Weber’s Vikings trailed the host Wildcats 4-1. 

But Niles rebounded to capture wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to earn itself a 4-4 tie.

Weber was proud of how the Vikings kept their composure under adverse conditions and won those last three matches in three sets.

At No. 1 singles, Elias Babler from Niles pulled out a thrilling 5-7, 6-3. 6-4 win over Jack Miller of Three Rivers.

“Elias is a patient player and is always honing in on his shots and what he has to do, he executes and stays very positive,” Weber said.  

The Vikings’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Jack Badman and Paxton Daniel defeated Three Rivers’ duo of Justin McDonald and Theo Herrman 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.

“That was a real key win for Jack and Paxton being able to pull out a tough three-set match,” Weber said.  

Niles’ No. 2 duo of Wyatt Mitchell and Rylan Custard edged Alex Nowak and Parker Bingaman 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3.

“This was a good win for us. We had already seen Three Rivers at our own six-team tournament that we won. They (Three Rivers) came out and played very well today,” Weber said. 

Niles is now 2-0-1 overall and 1-0 in the league. 

At No. 2 singles, Logan Paluzzi from Niles lost to Three Rivers’ Jay Nowak 3-6, 0-6. 

At No. 3 singles, Abner Lazada from Niles dropped a 3-6, 4-6 decision to Three Rivers’ Cameron Mccolley 1-6, 1-6. 

In the No. 4 singles flight, Niles’ Stephen Applewhite earned 6-1, 6-1 win over Brayden Williams from Three Rivers. 

“Stephen is new to his position, but he’s picking things up very well,” Weber said. 

At No. 3 doubles, Niles’ duo of Seth Smith and Brian Young lost to Three Rivers’ Nick Karabestos and Alex Karabestos 3-6, 4-6. 

Niles” No. 4 doubles team of Ryan Atkins and Shane Hiles recorded a 6-1, 6-1 win over Ebin Perkins and Bibhab Sama from Three Rivers.

“We have a pretty solid team and this group worked really hard over the summer,” Weber said. 

Three Rivers coach Mike Kupiec was pleased with his squad despite the tie.

“We are a really young team after losing seven players from last season’s team. There are some kids who are playing two or three positions higher in our lineup than they normally should,” Kupiec said. “We are doing better than I anticipated when the season began though.”