After putting together one of the best regional tournaments that Alpena tennis coach Charlie Giordano has ever been apart of, the focus for Giordano and senior Cam DeCaire now turns to the Division 2 state tournament which begins at Hope College today.

“It is just the second time that I can remember that we qualified a singles player for the state tournament. The team and especially Cam did a great job all day and we beat some teams that we weren’t supposed to beat and aggravated a lot of players. It was just really nice to see and I am very proud,” Giordano said.

DeCaire played three games during the regional tournament and eventually knocked off the number two seed in the tournament to get the opportunity to continue playing today.

“The day went really well, my serving was on and I was able to come through. I probably wasn’t supposed to get to the point where I am today and beat some of the guys I beat, but I was able to aggravate my opponents. Afterwards it was just a great feeling knowing that I had just qualified for states,” DeCaire said.

The preparation has been intense getting ready for the state finals. DeCaire possesses a strong first serve and is athletic enough to cover the court well. The key will be to work on his second serve and not allow his opponents to tee off on it.

“We have been working on several different things just improve his game. It’s awesome to work with him, because he shows so much improvement,” Giordano said. “The big thing is mentally, he just needs to know that he belongs there. He deserves to be there, he won the match. This is where he needs to be and this will be a great experience for him.”

DeCaire drew a first round bye and will play Max Stallings from Grosse Pointe North in his first match of the day. Twenty two players will be in Holland in the first singles bracket for the start of the single elimination state tournament.

“I’m hoping to gain experience and I’m excited to see and possibly play against opponents that I have never faced before. It will be nice to be able to see how other people play and see what else I need to work on in order to improve my game,” DeCaire said.

Any time an athlete or team qualifies for the state tournament is a big deal. For the first time since Abram Purol qualified in 2013, Giordano will get to experience going back to a state tournament with one of his players and this time may feel even more special as DeCaire has spent four years on the varsity team and has turned into one of the better players the program has seen.

“It’s huge and it’s a lot of fun. I’m very excited to watch Cam because he just enjoyed himself so much last weekend and his game really showed it. He played with so much pride, he played so relaxed and he knew that he was going to give everything he had because its his senior season,” Giordano said. “I’m excited for Cam, he’s worked hard for it and deserves it. His four years on the team have been great and it’s a nice culminating thing to see him play this weekend. To be able to walk around and see some of the other players. He understands other players games and it’ll be nice for him just to see where he ranks in the history of Alpena tennis.”

No matter what happens, this weekend will serve as a fitting ending to DeCaire’s career at Alpena. After putting in the time and effort over the last four years, DeCaire will realize that his hard work has finally paid off when he steps on the court today.

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment ever since my freshman year. My goal was to get to states and it just feels so great that I am able to fulfill one of my dreams,” DeCaire said.

Jonny Zawacki can be reached via email at jzawacki@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5690.