Greenhills School's No. 1 singles player, John Adams, hits a backhand during a match against Detroit U-D Jesuit. (Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com)

Though he would have preferred his team not have to learn this lesson on a 90-degree day, Greenhills School boys tennis coach Eric Gajar was pleased by what his team took from an early season match with visiting Detroit U-D Jesuit on Monday.

The two-time defending Division 4 state champion Gryphons don't always find themselves in tightly-contested matches. That was anything but the case Monday at Greenhills, where half the flights had at least one set go to 7-5 or need a tiebreaker.

Greenhills won the hotly -- literally and figuratively -- contested matchup 5-3.

"It's the perfect time of the season for us for this kind of match, with a good D-2 school that's bigger and is going to push us," Gajar said. "It's no feirce rivalry or anything, but it worked out well to where everyone's really competitive and it's a good atmosphere."

More coverage at MLive.com: Results

At No. 2 singles, Greenhills' Mithun Saha defeat David McGee 6-4, 7-5. The Gryphons' Zach Tsai was on the losing end of match by the exact same score at No. 3 singles against U-D Jesuit's Julian Ernst.

There were no easy points in No. 2 doubles either, where David Goldfarb and Shamik Ganguly fell to U-D Jesuit's Adam Pulte and Timmy Hoffman 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 10-8 (third sets automatically were played as super tiebreakers).

There were no easy points in Matt Tsai's (above) 6-4, 7-5 loss at No. 3 singles. (Photo: Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com)

"It's great experience to be in that kind of match," Gajar said. "Those are the ones guys gotta learn to play in and figure out how to play the big points big.

"Most guys will tell you they would rather play in that and lose than in a 6-0, 6-0 win where they're done in a half hour."

Greenhills' Sean Saint and Matteo Todisco were on the winning end of a similarly close match, taking down Chris Barnes and Jonathan Lesnau 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 at No. 4 doubles.

Greenhills (3-1) got its other points from John Adams (No. 1 singles), A.J. Gay and Ben Froehlich (No. 1 doubles) and Connor Kaczynski and Chang Che (No. 3 doubles).

"Today worked out well. I could have done without the 90 degree temperatures, but each team going hard and getting better and I liked the way it turned out," Gajar said.

MORE BOYS TENNIS
Chelsea 8, Adrian 0: The Maples fail to win so much as a set and only once won more than two games in the lopsided Bulldogs win. (Rest of the Story |Results)

Huron 8, Monroe 0: The River Rats sweep the Trojans to pick up an SEC Red victory. (Match details not available)

GIRLS FIELD HOCKEY
Greenhills 1, Toledo Ottawa Hills (OH) 1: Gryphons goalie Sierra Patton saves a penalty stroke with time expired to preserve the tie. (Rest of the Story | Boxscore)