The list of players who have won matches during this rebuilding season for the Reeths-Puffer boys tennis team isn’t very long.
Most of the Rockets’ victories have come at No. 1 or No. 2 singles, from Ethan Frang and Cory Judd.
But there’s a new name on the singles winner list now, and it comes from a player who has worked hard for the team for the past four years.
R-P senior Jackson Baldus played doubles for the first three years of his career, and started out on the Rockets’ No. 1 doubles team this season, before moving up to No. 3 singles. He has struggled in most of his matches, against a lot of tough opponents, but he finally broke through for his first career singles victory on Thursday.
R-P's Jackson Baldus
Baldus defeated Jenison’s Colin Lasin 6-2, 6-4.
He had to really battle at the end, because Lasin had won two straight games to tie the score in the second set at 4-4, and was up by three points in the ninth game. Baldus rallied and won that game, however, as well as the next game, to seal up the set and the match.
Baldus had a nice audience for his first win, because all seven of the other matches were done, and all the players from both teams were gathered around the court to cheer on Baldus or Lasin.
“Jackson’s match was one of the highlights of the season,” said R-P head coach Ryan Hankinson. "He used everything he learned throughout the season in his late transition to playing singles as a senior.
“As coaches we discuss perseverance and grit being necessary to achieve our longer-range goals, both on the court and off. Jackson’s embodies that perfectly. He frequently takes the more challenging road, just as he did to earn a spot in the singles lineup rather than remaining in doubles and playing all year with a partner.”
R-P lost the team match to Jenison, 7-2. The Rockets’ other winner was Frang, who defeated Jenison’s Elijah Kind, 6-4 , 6-1.