Two Reeths-Puffer tennis players earned All-Conference honors following Friday’s O-K Green Conference tournament, which wrapped up the regular season.
Senior Ethan Frang (No. 1 singles) and freshman Roman Ponce (No. 4 singles, No. 1 doubles) were both selected by the conference coaches for the honor squad.
"All four of the other conference coaches identified the freshman, Roman Ponce, as an at-large choice, and he reminds me so much of Ethan, back when he was an athletic first-year Rocket," said R-P head coach Ryan Hankinson. "Maybe the torch has been passed, but Ethan is leaving some big shoes to fill, both on and off the court."
The Rockets did not have any champions at the conference tournament, which features a lot of really good players from traditionally very strong tennis schools.
R-P All-Conference players Ethan Frang (left) and Roman Ponce.
Frang posted a 1-1 record in the elite No. 1 singles flight. He defeated Jenison’s Elijah Kind 6-3, 6-1, then lost to undefeated Mona Shores freshman phenom Reid Hackney in the finals, 6-0, 6-0.
Frang, who was seeded second, was the official runner-up at No. 1 singles.
R-P picked up one victory at No. 4 singles, where Henrik Ketner downed Caledonia’s Ben Simon, 6-1, 6-1.
The Rockets’ No. 1 doubles team of Ponce and Jack Yonkman rallied to beat Caledonia’s Quinn Cook and Cooper Sowerby 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.
As a team, the Rockets finished last out of five with 14.5 points. Byron Center won the tournament with 41 points.
The Rockets will compete in Division 2 regionals on Wednesday, when teams and individuals will compete for a chance to advance to the state finals.