CLARKSTON >> As the air reached temperatures higher than 80 degrees on Thursday, action on the tennis court between Birmingham Seaholm and Clarkston was just as fiery.

Last year’s D2 runner-up, third-ranked Seaholm, came away with a 5-3 road win over defending D1 state champion and top-ranked Clarkston.

The intensity on the court could be attributed to two teams who not only have lots of talent but also each have incredible teammate skills.

“We pride ourselves on being loud and competitive, that’s the culture at Seaholm,” said Maples head coach Casey Cullen. “We want to win that adrenaline battle, particularly in doubles. We have some youth this year, so we are still working on that, but it is something we definitely want to pride ourselves on.”

Clarkston has had to go through some lineup changes at the beginning of this year due to some late departures from the program, but there remains good vibes all-around.

“I think our team is more together than ever,” said Clarkston assistant coach Nikole Carlson. “We want to be uplifting each other, high-fiving in-between every point. As a defending state champ, we set up a schedule where we come out here and are playing the best teams in the state. You aren’t going to win without being positive.”

The changes have forced some funky lineups, and it has pushed freshman Rory Hoyle into the No. 1 singles slot. She was impressive Thursday, picking up a 6-1, 6-0 win.

“Rory has been awesome,” Carlson said. “She was forced into this position unexpectedly, and has embraced it and welcomed it with open arms. One singles is undoubtedly the hardest position in the state to play, and she is a freshman. To step into this role and truly be a leader on this team at such a young age is extraordinary.”

Perhaps the match of the day was at No. 1 doubles where Seaholm’s Jordyn Lusky and Lucy Jen beat Lana Sloan and Kate Ketzler in a third-set tiebreak. Cullen praised his duo, particularly the four-year varsity player in Lusky.“Clarkston does a good job on our net players, they made it really hard to play our brand of tennis. Jordyn is just a consistent winner. She is so positive. She helps guide all of our doubles players, especially in those tiebreakers. We won two tiebreakers in that match, that’s a sign you have really good loose energy on the court. When you get tight in those big moments, things can go bad. That pair has really good energy.”

Milana Kest clinched a No. 3 singles win for Seaholm over Ginger Robinson, 6-4, 7-5, while Seaholm No. 3 doubles pair Cate French and Kate Crowley beat Harper Jones and Lily Haviland 10-2 in a third-set tiebreak. In No. 4 doubles, duo Katie Joyce and Alina Villaire clinched a 6-3, 6-3 win for Seaholm as well, beating Paityn Sweet and Logan Robinson.

Cullen made a point to shout out his No. 4 singles player, Izzy Bloom, who dug deep for a three-set comeback victory over a very game Ava Henkel.

“I think Izzy Bloom gets it done for us,” Cullen said. “She has done this a couple times, where she’s down and looks dead but comes back and wins. She has been battling a hamstring problem but she is out there grinding and digging. Four singles is a brutal flight, and for her to comeback like that on this hot day is a testament to her toughness.”

Clarkston avoided a sweep in doubles by getting a win out of its No. 2 pair of Abigail Finnerty and Lily Stephenson, who beat Sophia Arndt and Anna Olekszyk 7-6, 6-4.

“Our two doubles stayed undefeated with that win today. They were four doubles state finalists last year, and it’s been impressive. To see them step up two spots, again unexpectedly, is awesome,” said Carlson.

A big win for Clarkston was at No. 2 singles, where Charlotte Partchenko pulled out a comeback 10-7 third-set tiebreak win over Jada Josifovski.

“Seaholm has a great team, and the two singles player is very solid. For Charlotte to come out and play as deep into that match as she did took everything she had. She had to bring out all of her shots today, and I am so proud of her,” said Carlson.

Seaholm travels to take on rival Groves next Tuesday, while the Wolves will look to rebound against Rochester Adams.