Reeths-Puffer tennis coach Ryan Hankinson appreciates Quinn Alderink for several different reasons.
Obviously he loves the fact that Alderink has become a far more consistent winner at No. 1 singles after a year of struggling and learning in the top spot of the lineup.
But he also appreciates how Alderink served as sort of recruiter for the team, back when he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
Alderink has been playing various team sports since he was small, then started playing tennis in middle school.
He fell in love with the game right away, encouraged his teammates in other sports to give it a try, and several took him up on it.
R-P's Quinn Alderink
Now a number of them are all teammates on a rapidly improving R-P tennis team that’s doing well this season and could be pretty special by next fall.
“Quinn introduced the game of tennis to some of his friends, and they’ve all learned to love the sport,” Hankinson said.
“I just threw out the idea to some of them and they enjoyed it,” Alderink added.
Alderink’s love for tennis was really obvious last fall as a sophomore, because he lost a lot of matches but never shied away.
After splitting his freshman season between doubles and low singles, he moved up to No. 2 singles last year. That only lasted a few matches until R-P’s former No. 1 singles player moved to No. 1 doubles and Alderink found himself in the high-pressure No. 1 singles spot.
He had a predictably tough time with that assignment, playing against older juniors and seniors from different schools. He finished with a 7-20 record, and several of his wins came at No. 2 singles, not No. 1.
Some kids would have been scared off by all that losing, but Alderink is not that type.
“It was exciting, honestly,” he said. “I just looked at It as a good learning experience. My mindset was to use it to get better for future seasons. There were a couple of matches I lost that I knew I should have won. It was frustrating, but you can’t win them all."
Alderink noted that high school tennis is totally different at No. 1 singles.
“In the other flights you are just trying to keep the ball in so you can keep playing the point,” he said. “At No. 1 and 2 singles, people are going for harder shots and winners and their serves are harder. You have to be a lot more agile.”
Alderink has been winning a whole lot more this season.
He currently has a 9-6 record at No. 1 singles with several impressive victories under his belt, including a 6-0, 6-0 sweep last week of Whitehall’s William Burger, the top player for a traditionally powerful area team.
Alderink also gutted out two marathon three-set victories over Cadillac’s Brady Koenig and Western Michigan Christian’s Will Liggett earlier this season.
“I feel like a much better tennis player,” Alderink said. “I think I got more mature and improved my skills during the summer. I feel like last year taught me a few things.”
Alderink has never been a shy competitor. Last year, often facing tough odds, he would simply cut loose and hit the ball hard, hoping that would make a difference.
He would pound first serves that sometimes missed the mark. He would blast hard shots that sometimes flew out of bounds.
This year Alderink is more patient and planned in his approach and has been more successful as a result, according to Hankinson.
“His hitting has improved a lot,” the coach said. “Last year he would go three shots then go for the winner, and he would lose 75 percent of those points. Now he can have an eight-shot rally, get his opponent slightly out of position and hit a winner.”
The Rockets have a lot of season remaining this fall, including Saturday’s Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Tournament.
With two amazing competitors at No. 1 singles – Mona Shores’ Drew Hackney and North Muskegon’s Luke Hall - Alderink realizes he’s not going to win the No. 1 singles flight championship.
But he is hoping for a third or fourth place finish, and said he would love to play Hall again, because he thinks he could do better than the 6-0, 6-0 loss he suffered earlier this season.
Alderink and the Rockets could be setting themselves up for a very nice 2024 season. There are no seniors on the team, meaning the entire lineup could potentially return next fall and be even better.
“100 percent,” Alderink said, when asked about the potential for next season. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead, but it could be really cool.”
