The #6 Ranked EGR Pioneers made the trip to Zandee Tennis Center to face off against the #7 Ranked Eagles in a showdown that had massive Conference, Regional, and State Seeding implications.  In a total team effort that would have made Coach Zandee proud, the boys in Eagle Blue came away with a huge win over their OK-White Rivals.  

To set the scene, a win over the Pioneers meant that the Eagles would be placed in the Top 4 Teams in the Conference to play for the Conference Title and other All-Conference Honors.  A loss would relegate the Eagles to the bottom four of the Conference.  A win also places the Eagles in position for a higher team seed should both teams advance to the new Top 16 MHSAA State Tennis Finals and also continue to solidify their position as a number 1 seed in the Regional.  

And to make the situation even more intense, under new team rules if the teams tied 4-4, the tiebreaker would come down to what team won more sets in the match.  That's exactly what happened, as the Eagles and the Pioneers tied 4-4 so it came down to the most sets won and the Eagles had the edge, 9-8 over the Pioneers.

The Eagles won at #1, #3, and #4 Singles, with Simon Volkema, Alex Cook, and Tanner Warners all turning in straight set victories.  The Pioneers won at #2, #3, and #4 Doubles.  #1 Doubles, Cade Boender and Charlie Walters played inspired tennis in the first set, coming from 5-4 behind to win a huge 7-5 set that would end up being the deciding factor before falling in 3 sets.  Senior Alex Lowell also faced a significant amount of adversity, being down 5-4 and 6-5 in his first set that if he would have lost, would have sent the match into the next tiebreaker where the Pioneers would have earned the win with having more total games won.  Alex closed the door 7-6 in the first set before rolling to a 6-2 second set win to clinch the victory.

The Eagles face FHE on Thursday before competing for the OK-White Conference Title this Friday or Saturday. Congratulations to the team on a historic and huge win!