ALLEGAN - The Hamilton tennis team has made it to the state tennis tournament before, but Thursday proved to be a historic day for the Hawkeyes, who won their first ever girls regional championship.
The Hawkeyes scored 24 points to hold of Otsego and the rest of the field to win the Division 3 regional title.
"The girls did a lot of work in the offseason and we have been coming along each year and developing. We don't have a light's out player, but a completely balanced team," Hamilton coach Steve Lubbers said. "It is big for our program to know that this is possible. Success breeds success."
The Hawkeyes swept the doubles flights, earning regional titles in all four.
Joelle Boeskool and Haylie Peterman won the regional crown at No. 1 doubles.
At No. 2 doubles, it was Danielle Wedeven and Drew VanHouten that claimed the title.
Sophia Blauwkamp and Abigail Atwood won at No. 3 doubles and Lydia Lucas and Emmaline Kapenga completed the sweep at No. 4 doubles.
"We are very athletic. Our form isn't necessarily textbook, but the girls will run every ball down and make them hit one more shot," Lubbers said.
Hamilton also got runner-up finishes from Natalie Grunst and MacKenzie Eding at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
Hamilton will play in the Division 3 state finals May 31-June 1 in Kalamazoo.
Holland Christian wins D3 regional
The Maroons scored 20 points to hold off Spring Lake for the Division 3 regional title at Spring Lake on Thursday.
Holland Christian will play in the Division 3 state finals May 31-June 1 in Kalamazoo.
Holland Christian's Camryn Nadig won the No. 3 singles flight championship with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Spring Lake's Sloan Horton.
At No. 1 doubnles, Esmay Klingenberg and Cortney Leep won the title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Whitehall in the finals.
The Maroons got one more flight title with Lily Wierenga and Chloe Tait winning at No. 4 doubles, capped by a 6-0, 6-2 win over Ludington in the finals.
Holland Christian's Stella Klooster and Hope Bruinsma finished runner-up at No. 2 doubles, falling 6-2, 6-4 to Coopersville in the finals.
Isa VanKlompenberg and Izzy Delcalzo reached the No. 3 doubles final before being defeated by Spring Lake 6-1, 6-3 in the finals.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
Local News
Comments / 0