LAST YEAR: The Rockets had a challenging season, finishing last out of five teams in the very tennis-talented O-K Green conference, but there were some good moments for the rebuilding squad.
Even with a very young overall lineup, R-P finished in third place at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament, which pits every team in Muskegon County against each other. Two players – seniors Ethan Frang and Cory Judd – finished as runners-up at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Cameron Mock and Jack Erickson finished in third place at No. 4 doubles after starting the day as fifth seeds.
Frang and Judd both won a match at a brutally tough Division 2 regional tournament to end the season. Frang and freshman Roman Ponce were selected to the O-K Green All-Conference team.
BACK IN THE LINEUP: Last year the Rockets had a ton of new players, but this fall a lot of those same guys return with a year of varsity experience under their belts.
While new coach Josh Danielson has not identified where various players might compete in the lineup, R-P has two returners who saw significant time in singles competition last year – sophomore Roman Ponce and junior Henrik Ketner. Ponce, as a returning All-Conference player, is probably the most skilled returner, and both he and Ketner will probably play important anchor roles.
Four Rockets played a significant amount of doubles last year. Juniors Brennan Dietz and Gabe Feirick were partners, as were juniors Jack Erickson and Cameron Mock. Zayden Ziotnicki is another experienced doubles player, so the doubles portion of the lineup could very well be a team strength.
THE REST OF THE ROSTER: Juniors Brayden Witham, Gavin Willi, Nolan Vanderwall, Brody Oliveira and Bradley Gaunt and freshmen Braiden Ellis and Tayte Schroeder comprise the rest of the roster, and will add a lot of depth to the team.
“We have a fair number of new guys on the team, and so far they have done very well in practice, have been very coachable, and bring a positive energy to the team dynamic,” Danielson said. 
STRONG PARTICIPATION: While a lot of schools with tennis teams fail to fill all the spots in a dual match lineup (12 players - four singles and eight doubles), that will not be a problem for Reeths-Puffer, which has 14 players out this fall. Eleven of those 14 are juniors, meaning the Rockets are working toward having a very experienced, senior-heavy lineup next year. There are no seniors on the team this fall.
FIRST COMPETITION: Tuesday Aug. 18 at home against Sparta.
COACH QUOTE: “Our biggest strength is that we have a great group of guys who are eager to learn, want to get better at the sport, are very supportive of each other, and have great attitudes. Our biggest challenge is that we compete in a very competitive conference, and we will be well challenged at our matches. However, if we focus on our fundamentals, we hope to be competitive.” – Josh Danielson 
