Coach: Steve Wilson, second year.
Last season: 10-9 overall, 6-6 CBC.
Returning players: Seniors — Jared Grant, Ethan Grant, J.J. Hooper, Eric Whitt.
Newcomers: Seniors — Ryan Little, Lucas Wehaje; Freshmen — Kyle Burkholder, Ryan Dewey, Joseph Lazarte, Drake Pensworth, Joshua Remmeter, Matt Schirtzinger, Aaron Smith, Jake McGuire.
FYI: Wehaje is a foreign exchange student from Germany.
Coach’s quote: “It should be a promising season. We’re looking to be in the top half (of the CBC). I’m looking to get in that top spot, naturally. But we’re at least looking to capture that third or maybe second spot. The experience the freshmen get will lead us into next year. The kids coming up to fill some of the varsity spots have been playing all winter. We’re going to be one of the deepest teams in the area.”
Kenton Ridge
Coach: Sherri Bennett, 14th year.
Last season: 14-3 overall, 12-2 CBC.
Returning players: Seniors — Ross Smith; Juniors — Jack Glass, Luke Schlicher, Jacob Abshear, Brendan Taylor.
Newcomers: Seniors — Ben Bowman, Lane Estep; Sophomore — Noah Icenhour; Freshman — Sam Smith.
FYI: The freshman, Sam Smith, will step into the first singles slot. Senior Ross Smith will be at second singles after going 11-9 at first singles last season, while Schlicher will return at third singles. The second doubles team of Glass and Abshear will move into the first doubles spot.
Coach’s quote: “I’m going to be cautiously optimistic and say we might be able to take Tipp (undefeated in league play last season). They lost quite a bit to graduation. With Ross at second, he’s going to be a force. And he’s a great mentor for Sam. Luke being experienced at third singles, we’ll have a strong singles. I’m looking forward to the season.”
Northwestern
Coach: Kevin Fraker, third year.
Last season: 3-12 overall, 3-10 CBC.
Returning players: Seniors — John Franzen, Paul Tucker, Keith Williams, Brandon West, Brian Looney, Corey Kleis, Denver Meek, Jayson Moore, Matt Pierce; Junior — Zach Wildofsky.
Newcomers: Senior — Jaclyn Demeter, Kevin Czarnecki; Juniors — Dakota Hitt, Ken Snyder, Nick Hurst; Sophomore — George Sutton; Freshmen — Austin Lundberg, Jason Demeter, Mason Stalder, Zach Petticrew.
FYI: Wildofsky returns as the No. 1 singles player after a 20-7 season at first singles in 2010. The Warriors have a whopping 22 kids out for the team.
Coach’s quote: “We’re hoping another year under their belts will give them the experience they need. We lost 3-2 nine times last year. We could not find that third win. Hopefully we’ll find the right combination to get that third win. We could be at 75 percent (winning percentage), or we could be at 25. It’s how well those kids come to compete.”
Shawnee
Coach: Tony Taylor, sixth year.
Last season: 14-5 overall, 11-4 CBC.
Returning players: Seniors — Cody White, Clayton Cross, Seth Dixon, Cole Thornberry; Juniors — Mike Ellinger, Jake King, Brad Steen, R.J. Ebner; Sophomore — Tom Struck.
Newcomers: Seniors — Zach Doyle, Mark McKee, Tyler Pontsler; Junior — Danny Valley; Freshmen — Rob Garringer, Spencer Everhart.
FYI: White played No. 3 singles in 2010, but moves up to No. 1 singles. Dixon, first doubles last year, will be No. 2, and King, second doubles last year, will play at No. 3. Thornberry will play a lot at doubles.
Coach’s quote: “The three singles were so close last year, so Cody hast he talent to compete at No. 1. It all depends on how we stack up against the talent of the league. We’re pretty green in every position. I don’t have a pulse on how well we are going to do this year.”
Tecumseh
Coach: Sean Bragg, first year.
Last season: 0-20, 0-16 CBC.
Returning players: Seniors — Kyle Mather, Trevor Querry; Juniors — Doug Sortman, Tucker Cates; Sophomores — Connor Measel, Justin Williams, Jacob Sortman, Ryan Kelly, Alex Eben.
Newcomers: Senior — Andy Lutz; Junior — Eduardo Mendazo; Freshmen — Austin Finch, Andy Fiorita, Conner Badurka, Garret Watson.
FYI: Mather, last year’s No. 2 singles player, returns, as does Trevor Querry, who will be back at second singles. Doug Sortman will handle third singles. Eben and Williams make up the first doubles team.
Coach’s quote: “We want to win our first match. That’s our immediate goal. And I just want to instill the great sport of tennis into these kids so they can take it with them the rest of their lives.”
Urbana
Coach: Brandon Deskins, 10th year.
Last season: 9-11. 8-8 CBC.
Returning players: Senior — Brad Murray; Juniors — Austin Caudill, Doug Burkett, Branden Miller, Andrew Angles, Greg Fifer; Sophomores — Wayne Wildman, Jason Holmes.
Newcomers: Seniors — Casey Evans, Kaveh Shokouhi; Juniors — Brad West, Josh Emory; Sophomores — Cody Saylor, Anthony Edwards; Freshmen — Barnaby Ofori, Garrett Spence.
FYI: After three years on the girls team, Evans is playing against the guys this spring, due mainly to scheduling conflicts in the fall. Burkett moves up to first singles from second last year, whille Caudill, third singles in 2010, will be at No. 2. Miller will be at third singles.
Coach’s quote: “We’ve got a lot of new faces, but we’ve got three pretty solid players back. Last year was only our second losing season in nine years, so we’re hoping to turn that around. It’s going to come down to how quickly our doubles teams will come together.”
Greater Western Ohio Conference
Springfield
Coach: Deanna Broucher, third year.
Last season: 11-7. 2-3 GWOC Central.
Returning players: Seniors — Witness Barnett, Munther Hamayel, Nick Rodgers; Juniors — Nauman Rauf, Azie Dhingra, Ian Shelburne, Cody Zehrung, Matt Flanaker; Sophomores — Nazeer Ahmed, Humza Bashir, Lane Schlicher, Sam Thompson, Peder Tune.
Newcomers: Senior — Jeff Lin, Brando Baldrighi, Zeeshan Samad; Juniors — Jonathan Gummel; Tariq Roe-Smith; Freshmen — Sam Brougher, Hirsh Chitkara, Mitchell Dunlap, Trevor Keriazes, Collin Roberts.
FYI: The Wildcats lost their top two singles players, moving Rauf to first singles and Barnett to either No. 2 singles ro No. 1 doubles.
Coach’s quote: “We have good depth in our lineup. I have 10 new players, which is always good news for any program. Of those 10, five are freshmen. They’re good, bright, hard-working kids.”
Ohio Heritage Conference
Catholic Central
Coach: Bill Herzog, fifth year.
Last season: 9-9, 6-2 and second in OHC.
Returning players: Seniors — Jim Lynch; Juniors — Pat Burns, Dan Strozdas; Sophomore — Marshall Miller.
Newcomers: Seniors — Dan Lemelle; Junior — Troy Nave; Freshmen — Chip Setterfield, Casey Burns, Will Johnson.
FYI: Patrick Burns returns as the Irish’s No. 1 singles player and is the reigning News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year. He was 20-7 last season and 16-3 as a freshman.
Coach’s quote: “We lost some seniors and had some kids not come back who I had hoped would come back. I do have some freshmen, and I’m always excited about freshmen because you have a chance to work with them for four years. We’ll have to work on rebuilding the bottom of the lineup and see how it goes.”
Cedarville
Coach: Todd Shuttleworth, third year.
Last season: 7-7, 3-5 OHC.
Returning players: Seniors — Ian Molnar, Sam Stevenson, Taylor Kordic, Pete Heath, Ryan Biddinger; Junior — Sarah Myers; Sophomores — Tim Marvin, Ethan Raby.
Newcomers: Sophomore — Mary Heath; Freshman — Austin Lewis.
FYI: Kordic and Molnar return to fill the top two singles slots. Pete Heath will hold down third singles. Shuttleworth is a rarity in the area in that he’s an Indians head coach in the fall, winter and spring.
Coach’s quote: “I’m real excited because we have a lot of seniors back, and having 19 kids in the program bodes well for us. I think it is going to be a fun league (race) this year, wide-open and very competitive. Anyone can win it.”
Greeneview
Coach: Troy Terrill, sixth year.
Last season: Tied for third in the OHC.
Returning players: Seniors — Noel Ragland, Travis Bradford; Juniors — Garrett Sargent, Jace Robinson.
Newcomers: Seniors — Dar Borradaile, Andre Pornea, Farran Qureshi; Sophomores — Ben Turner, Monim Qureshi, Wes Shoemaker, Alec Talbott, Dimitri Furman, Alex Pfeifer, Hunter Bradford, Nate Beverly; Freshman — Caleb Rogers.
FYI: Sargent returns as the Rams’ top singles player and one of the top players in the area. Ragland returns to his second singles slot. Bradford or Robinson will compete at No. 3 singles. Pornea is a foreign exchange student from Muldova.
Coach’s quote: “We would like to win the league, and we want to be competitive in non-league matches.”
Northeastern
Coach: Jane Warren, 17th year.
Last season: 15-3, 8-0 OHC; league champs.
Returning players: Seniors — Alex Cunningham, Blair Lehmkuhl, J.C. Shull; Juniors — Ryan Davis, Bryce Haythe; Sophomores — Scott Casto, Michael Schmid, Andrew Williams.
Newcomers: Sophomores — Jason Rouch, Dakota Smith; Freshmen — Dylan Auckerman, Will Foreman, Chandler James, Devereaux Turner.
FYI: The Jets lost their top three singles players to graduation, and two doubles starters. Last year, they had the highest winning percentage in school history.
Coach’s quote: “I know a lot of coaches claim they’re in a rebuilding season, but it really is for us this year. Anytime you lose five out of your seven varsity players, it’s going to take a little bit to rebuild. Within our league, there’s always a fair amount of parity. To have to rebuild at the level we’re doing, it is going to be difficult to defend our (OHC) title. We’ll be able to be competitive. We’ll have one of the most athletic teams we’ve ever had. But we’re lacking in experience.”
Southeastern
Coach: Nick Banion, first year.
Last season: N/A.
Returning players: Seniors — Alex Xayathone, Lukas Cason, Shawn Jackson; Juniors — Dylan Bowen, Erin Ruby, Josh Rotroff.
Newcomers: Senior — Michael Smith; Sophomores — Heidi Rotroff, Sara McKay; Freshman — Luke Farmer.
FYI: After two stints and 20 years as tennis coach for the Trojans, Jon Mercer has stepped aside. Banion is a 2006 Southeastern graduate who made his mark in baseball. Cason returns at No. 1 singles and Jackson at No. 2. Rotroff will hold down the No. 3 singles slot.
Coach’s quote: “I knew some of the kids on the team, and I knew they didn’t have a coach. I’m really excited about coaching at my alma mater. One of my things is, I don’t care if we have the best team or worst team, but I expect us to be competitive. If we are, I’ll be satisfied, if we’re 20-0 or 0-20. I want effort.”
Metro Buckeye Conference
Yellow Springs
Coach: Donna Silvert, second year.
Last season: 2-7, 1-5 MBC.
Returning players: Seniors — Will Turner, Isaac Haller, Nick Sontag, Addison Pettiford, Carl Wiener, Quinn Leventhal; Junior — Sabita Bathija.
Newcomers: Seniors — Aldo Duque, Dogucan Goshuvar; Juniors — Elizabeth Malone, Katie Dahm; Freshmen — Nick Miller-Jacobson, Rachele Orme.
FYI: Duque is a foreign exchange student from Chile. Addison, Weiner and Duque will make up the singles rotation.
Coach’s quote: “We have a lot of potential. If these kids don’t get too overloaded with their other responsibilities, we’ll do well. We have tough competition, but I have a team that can do well.”
— Compiled by Kermit Rowe
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