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Central Buckeye Conference

Greenon

Coach: Jeff Nickles, sixth year.

Last season: 12-8, 9-7 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Quinn Charney, Adam Walker, Mike Crago; Juniors — Kyle Kimmerling, Kent Walpole.

Newcomers: Junior — Nick Harris; Sophomores — Nick Cruz, Jared Grant, Alex Erickson, J.J. Hooper; Freshman — Aaron Acus.

FYI: Charney, 16-4 last season, has been the Knights' top singles player the last three seasons. Walker and Kimmerling started at singles last season. Walpole, who played doubles last year, will be playing second singles. Walker will play third singles, with Kimmerling moving to first doubles.

Coach's quote: "I think that we'll see some success. I'm cautiously optimistic. We had a few lineup shake-ups. (The returning experience) is nice to have. We have a shot at finishing high in the league. Tipp will be tough as always. And KR has a lot of talent coming back. With the experience at No. 1, and all the way through the team, we're hopeful."

Kenton Ridge

Coach: Sherri Bennett, 12th year.

Last season: 15-5, 12-4 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Adam Bennett, Toby Jones, Cody Hidy, Nathan Shaw, Zach Shonkwiler, Colin Taylor, Jimmy Readler, Kyle Hickman; Junior — Kyle Price; Sophomore — Ross Smith.

Newcomers: Seniors — Dante Darden, Tim Spoon.

FYI: The Cougars return district doubles qualifiers Bennett and Smith. Shonkwiler, Jones, Shaw and Hickman will hold down the singles slots. KR has a whopping eight returning seniors on its varsity roster, and two other first-time seniors.

Coach's quote: "Our senior class is going to be our strength. I'm hoping for a big year. I think we've got the talent. Hopefully, we'll turn some heads. I fully expect to see Adam and Ross to get back to districts, and maybe even go further."

Northwestern

Coach: Kevin Fraker, first year.

Last season: 4-10 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Mitch Wolfarth, Ben Sigler, Trevor Williams, Chad Anderson; Junior — Seth Kohut; Sophomores — John Franzen, Paul Tucker.

Newcomers: Senior — Andy Stump; Junior — Dustin Briggs, Sean Nuzum; Sophomores — Jacob Lynch, Keith Williams; Freshmen — Jeremy Sigler, Zach Wildofski.

FYI: Ben Sigler was the Warriors' first singles player last year. He, Trevor Williams and Wildofski should hold down the other two singles spots.

Coach's quote: "The thing about tennis is it is a sport I never got burned out on. I've always enjoyed each time I've been out on the court. I just hope to bring the enjoyment of the sport to the coaching side. I've been trying to bring some structure to the program. We're just shooting for constant improvement, and reaching our potential."

Shawnee

Coach: Tony Taylor, fourth year.

Last season: 4-16, 2-14 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Mike Whitacre, Isaac Burke, Sean Sowada; Juniors — Gabe Zeigler, Tyler Wilson, Steve Valley, Jake Woods; Sophomores — Cody White, Clayton Cross, Seth Dixon.

Newcomers: Seniors — Mark Miller, Cody Smith; Juniors — Brendan Smith, Jin Wu, Shawn Kessler, Karsten Kretschmann; Freshmen — Mike Ellinger, Jake King.

FYI: Kretschmann is a foreign exchange student from Germany, and will be the Braves' No. 1 singles player. Wilson and White will fill out the singles lineup.

Coach's quote: "We have everybody back this year. We appear to be a much more prepared team this year. Whether that translates into some wins remains to be seen since many of the teams in the CBC have everyone back, too."

Tecumseh

Coach: Kelly Querry, first year.

Last season: 2-16, 1-15 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Owen Masters, Cody Spellman; Juniors — Tyler Fritschie, Billy Gruber; Sophomores — Kyle Mather, Trevor Querry.

Newcomers: Seniors — Josh Luis, Dylan Jent, Clint North, Robert Maxwell; Junior — Tim Schmitt; Freshman — Doug Sortman.

FYI: This is Querry's first head coaching job.

Coach's quote: "We've got a real good group of guys this year."

Urbana

Coach: Brandon Deskins, eighth year.

Last season: 13-7, 10-6 CBC.

Returning players: Seniors — Matt Doss, Caleb Evans, Daniel Little, Jordan Perry, Michael Barrett; Juniors — Will Cole, Grant Thurman, Mason Wagner, Tyler Roberts.

Newcomers: Junior — Chris Cash; Sophomore — Brad Murray; Freshmen — Austin Caudill, Sam Doss, Doug Burkett.

FYI: The Hillclimbers lost five seniors from last season. Matt Doss returns with the only varsity singles experience. Cole, the current No. 1, and Evans will also play singles.

Coach's quote: "We're inexperienced. There are a lot of teams in the area with everybody back, so I'm expecting a lot of close matches. We've been focusing on mental toughness; that's what wins close matches."

Greater Western Ohio Conference

Springfield

Coach: Deanna Broucher, first year.

Last season: First year of North and South being combined.

Returning players: Seniors — Abdul Wasey, Curtis McCarty, Garrett Magoto, Alex Bryant, Justin Pinn, Jacob Rupert, Brent Tingley, Ryan Barnhart; Juniors — David Fish, Rohit Nezhad; Sophomore — Witness Barnett.

Newcomers: Senior — Joseph Garrigan; Junior — Riley Whittaker; Freshmen: Nauman Rauf, Azie Dhingra, Ian Shellburne.

FYI: Fish, Nezhad, Barnett, McCarty, Barnhart and Rauf will be playing singles. Broucher coached at South last season.

Coach's quote: "We're looking forward to a great season. I think we have a tough team, and the combination of the schools has gone well. We've got some talent, and I think things will work out pretty good."

Ohio Heritage Conference

Catholic Central

Coach: Bill Herzog, third year.

Last season: 3-13, 3-5 OHC.

Returning players: Sophomore — David Morgenstern.

Newcomers: Sophomores — Russell Burns, Tom Thurn, Joe Garmin, James Smith, Ethan Carney; Freshman — Pat Burns.

FYI: The Irish lost a lot to graduation, and return only one letterman. Burns will be at first singles, while Morgenstern will hold down the second singles spot.

Coach's quote: "We only have one varsity player coming back this year, but we have a lot of new faces excited to play. We have several younger kids who are just learning the game. We look to learn and get better as the year goes on."

Cedarville

Coach: Todd Shuttleworth, first year

Last season: N/A.

Returning players: Junior — Andy McFarlane; Sophomores — Ian Molnar, Sam Stevenson, Taylor Kordic.

Newcomers: Senior — Kimberly Trane; Sophomores — Pete Heath, Kyle Daily, Ryan Biddinger; Freshman — Sarah Myers.

FYI: It is Shuttleworth's first year coaching tennis, after coaching golf in the fall and boys basketball in the winter.

Coach's quote: "We are young, and I like this team. I really like our sophomore class. The future looks good."

Greeneview

Coach: Troy Terrill, fourth year.

Last season: 7-1 OHC; co-champs with Northeastern.

Returning players: Seniors — Brett Fulk, Stefan Harbison, John Shinkle; Juniors — Micah VanZant; Alex Varvel; Sophomore — Noel Ragland.

Newcomers: Junior — Cody Rudduck; Sophomore — Travis Bradford; Freshmen — Garrett Sargent, Steven Forte.

FYI: Fulk returns as the Rams' No. 1 singles player for the third straight season. Sargent and VanZant will hold down the other singles matches.

Coach's quote: "We're going to be competitive. If our doubles can step up, we should be."

Northeastern

Coach: Jane Warren, 15th year.

Last season: 15-5, 7-1 OHC; co-champs with Greeneview.

Returning players: Seniors — Sage Boggs, Anthony Sturgeon, Kevin Woodason; Juniors — Adam Deel, Brandon Williams, James Oswalt, Chris Precek, Perry Akers; Sophomores — Alex Cunningham, Blair Lehmkuhl, J.C. Shull.

Newcomers: Freshmen — Bryce Haythe, Monty Paulus, Cody Truitt.

FYI: Boggs has been the Jets' No. 1 singles player since he was a freshman, posting an 38-27 career record, and 18-5 last year. Deel and Williams will return to the second and third singles slots, respectively. The Jets have six players vying for the four remaining positions and eight returning lettermen overall.

Coach's quote: "The fact that they were willing to devote their offseason to their game, I think they realize they have a group of guys who could possibly make a difference and reach some goals that were not attainable in the past."

Southeastern

Coach: Jon Mercer, 18th year.

Last season: 0-15 overall.

Returning players: Seniors — Jacki Severt, Patrick Dempsey; Juniors — Austin Mercer, Jennifer Bryant; Sophomores — Alex Xayathone, Ashley Stewart.

Newcomers: Seniors — Jared Toops, Daniel Black; Sophomores — Lukas Cason, Shawn Jackson; Freshmen — Dylan Bowen, Erin Ruby.

FYI: Austin Mercer, 12-7 last season, returns to fill the No. 1 singles position for the third straight season. Severt, Dempsey and Cason will all see singles action as well.

Coach's quote: "We've got more kids, and picked up some kids who are athletic, including a couple of upperclassmen. I'm looking for us to improve. We have a lot more depth through the lineup this year. We're just trying to learn as we go and do what we can to win a few."

Non-conference

Yellow Springs

Coach: Jeffrey Crace, first year.

Last season: N/A.

Returning players: None.

Newcomers: Sophomores — Will Turner, Isaac Haller, Nick Sontag, Addison Pettiford, Carl Wiener; Freshmen — Philip Murphy, Sabita Fathija.

FYI: All the players are first-year players. Olivia Chen, a two-time district qualifier, will not return as a senior as she is studying overseas. Crace was a state qualifier in doubles for Shawnee.

Coach's quote: "They are incredibly young, but have a lot of energy. There's a lot of cohesion in the team. They really enjoy playing together and enjoy playing tennis."

— Compiled by Kermit Rowe