CENTURY
Head coach: Scott Boyer. Assistant: John Whelan.
Last year: Century won the conference title by winning the Big Nine tournament and finished 12-2 overall, both losses to Mayo. It fell 5-2 to Mayo in the Section 1AA finals.
Outlook: Century should once again be one of the top six teams in the state. The question that remains is whether that will be good enough to get past Mayo and to the state tournament, something it’s not been able to do in the past. It fell 5-2 to the Spartans in last year’s section championship. For now, though, Century coach Scott Boyer doesn’t want to worry about that. He’s focusing on his team, and not how it stacks up against anyone else.
Strengths: The top of Century’s lineup is loaded, with two of the best players in the state in seniors Eric Frueh and Joey Minear. Frueh just missed winning a state individual championship last year, barely falling to eventual champion Dusty Boyer in the semifinals. Minear didn’t lose a match at No. 2 singles last year, and also played some No. 1 singles. Besides Frueh and Minear, the Panthers have a much improved player in Colin Myhro. The junior played No. 3 doubles last year, but is sure to move up from that spot this season. Century also has a strong No. 3 singles player in Jon Smet, as well as players versatile to play singles or doubles in Tom Joswiak and Ben Harney.
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Question mark: Century graduated four regulars from last year’s terrific team. Replacing so many solid player won’t be easy.
Coach says: "We’re looking pretty good. We’re a lot deeper than I thought we’d be. We’ve got quite a few guys who have played tennis since last season and have improved." — Scott Boyer
ROSTER
Returning varsity players
Seniors: Eric Frueh, Joey Minear, Ben Harney, Jon Smet. Juniors: Tommy Joswiak, Colin Myhro, Brett Peters. Sophomores: Simon Brandt, Charlie Sarano, Andrew North.
Other varsity candidates
Seniors: Tanner Firl, Torrey Tiedmann. Juniors: Sean Chartier. Freshmen: Jeffery Park.
SCHEDULE
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(All matches start at 4:30 unless otherwise noted)
April 9 — Century Invitational, Lourdes, Coon Rapids, at RAC, 9 a.m.
April 14 — at Abert Lea
April 16 — at Cotter Invitational, 9 a.m.
April 18 — Lourdes
April 19 — Austin
April 21 — Winona
April 25 — Wayzata
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April 26 — at Mayo
April 28 — Mankato West
April 29 — Red Wing
May 3 — at Owatonna
May 5 — at Faribault
May 10 — at John Marshall
May 12 — Mankato East
May 14 — at Big Nine tournament, Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center, 9 a.m.
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May 17 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 19 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 24 — at section team tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
May 26 — at section individual tournament, TBD, 9 a.m.
May 31 — at section individual tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
June 7-8 — at state team tournament, U of M, TBD
June 9-10 — at state individual tournament, U of M, TBD
JOHN MARSHALL
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Head coach: Kyle Anderson. Assistant: Mark Jones.
Last year: JM was 2-7 Big Nine, 3-10 overall. It fell in the first round of the section tournament.
Outlook: JM won a pair of Big Nine matches and has hopes of upping that total this season. A middle-of-the-pack conference finish doesn’t seem out of the question. JM doesn’t have a lot of guys out for the team — just 21 — but there is some quality there as well as some excellent leadership.
Strengths: Foremost, coach Kyle Anderson appreciates the leadership on this 2011 JM edition. The Rockets are headed there by a pair of seniors, Thanh Truono and Michael Braun. Anderson notes that they’ve set the tone with their work ethic and character. The team’s best player is freshman Abhi Lamba, who will likely plug in at No. 1 singles. Lamba can get to the net and has added some aggression to his game. Anderson also likes what he’s seen from seventh-grader Jason Howard, a year-round player who’s played in many 14-under tournaments. Other top individuals are Truong and Braun. JM has some depth, which should make its doubles teams better this season.
Question mark: While the depth in doubles has improved from a year ago, JM still can’t match up there with the elite teams.
Coach says: "Depending on how we develop, we have a lot of potential and possibilities." — Kyle Anderson
ROSTER
Returning varsity players
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Seniors: Thanh Truong, Michael Braun, Sanjeev Sekar. Juniors: Rahul Mukherjee. Sophomores: Alex Cheng. Freshmen: Abhi Lamba, Chris Kotschevar. Eighth-graders: Sachchit Murali.
Other varsity candidates
Seniors: William Hempy. Eighth-graders: Colin Jacobs, Thomas Erickson, Ryo Kirihara. Seventh-graders: Jason Howard.
SCHEDULE
(All matches start at 4:30 unless otherwise noted)
April 7 — Lakeville North, 4 p.m.
April 11 — Lake City
April 12 — Red Wing
April 14 — Mayo
April 18 — at Lourdes
April 19 — at Mankato West
April 21 — Owatonna
April 26 — at Faribault
April 28 — at Austin
May 3 — Mankato East
May 5 — at Albert Lea
May 7 — at Lakeville North
May 10 — Century
May 12 — at Winona
May 14 — at Big Nine tournament, Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center, 9 a.m.
May 17 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 19 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 24 — at section team tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
May 26 — at section individual tournament, TBD, 9 a.m.
May 31 — at section individual tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
June 7-8 — at state team tournament, U of M, TBD
June 9-10 — at state individual tournament, U of M, TBD
LOURDES
Head coach: Steve Tacl. Assistant: Joe Boyer.
Last year: Lourdes finished 22-2 overall, first in Section 1A and fifth in the state tournament.
Outlook: This is Steve Tacl’s first year as head Lourdes boys coach, but he’s no stranger to Lourdes tennis. He coached the Eagles girls to a state title last fall in his initial year directing that program.
Lourdes’ only losses last year were to Mayo and Breck. However, the Eagles graduated some high-end players, including Ben Kopecky, a two-time state singles champion. Also graduated were standouts Connor Rust and Jevon Bea. Despite that, Lourdes is in position to be one of the top teams in the state. To get to state, though, it is likely going to have to get past formidable fellow Section 1A team St. Paul Academy.
Strengths: Lourdes is led by junior Robert Turlington, likely a top-10 player in state Class A. The Eagles also have another terrific junior at No. 2 singles, Brian Utz. And one more junior, Kyle McGrane, has vastly improved his game and seems ready to step in at No. 3 singles. Besides all of that singles punch, Lourdes seems to have depth, which should make its doubles teams tough. Some of the potential doubles players are Ross Haller (or No. 4 singles), Tomas Benzo, Alan Schembri-Wismayer, David Turlington and Luca Farrugia.
Question marks: Lourdes has a couple of unproven players manning doubles spots. How well they progress will tell a lot. There is also a question of how well this team will do without the formidable presence of Kopecky, who’d been a star in the lineup and a leader for years.
Coach says: "We have really good depth in doubles. I’m excited about what we can do there and am interested especially in what we can produce at 2 and 3 doubles." — Steve Tacl
ROSTER
Returning varsity players
Seniors: Ross Haller, Tomas Benzo, Luca Farrugia. Juniors: Robert Turlington, Brian Utz. Kyle McGrane. Sophomores: Alan Schembri-Wismayer, Nick Herbert. Eighth-graders: Nicolas Villarraga, David Turlington.
Other varsity candidates
Eighth-graders: Hadi Berbari, Stefan Farrugia.
SCHEDULE
(All matches start at 4:30 unless otherwise noted)
April 7 — at John Marshall
April 9 — at Century Invitational, 9 .m.
April 12 — at Lake City
April 14 — at Winona
April 16 — Lourdes Invitational, 8 a.m.
April 18 — at Century
April 19 — at Cotter
April 25 — Owatonna
April 26 — Stewartville
April 29 — Mayo, 4 p.m.
May 2 — at Stewartville
May 5 — Cotter
May 10 — Lake City
May 13 — Holy Angels
May 17 — at Waseca
May 23 — Section team tournament, TBD
May 25 — Section team tournament, TBD
May 27 — Section individual tournament, TBD
May 31 — Section individual tournament, TBD
June 7-8 — at state team tournament, Reed Sweatt Tennis Center, TBD
June 9-10 — at state individual tournament, Reed Sweatt Tennis Center, TBD
MAYO
Head coach: Jeff Demaray. Assistant coaches:Dave Edwards, Jerry Demaray.
Last year: Mayo finished 9-0 in the Big Nine, 18-3 overall, won the Section 1AA title and was third at state.
Outlook: This is likely the best team Mayo has had since it won the state Class AA championship in 2007. Winning a state title again this season is a serious goal, though defending champion Eden Prairie is still the favorite. Mayo also has a tough section to get through to get to state, with Century lurking. The Panthers are a top-eight-in-the-state team. Mayo will get tested plenty during the regular season, with matches against Eden Prairie, Century, Edina, Lourdes and state Class A defending champion Blake.
Strengths: Mayo has terrific depth, led by a pack of excellent singles players. Junior Thomas Nath is the team’s clear No. 1 singles player and is one of the top players in the state. Deciding how to fill the other three singles spots won’t be easy, but only because junior Eric Rustad, freshman T. Connor Shives and the first girl to ever play in the Mayo boys program — seventh-grader Ingrid Neel — are all so even. They’ve taken turns beating each other in early-season practices. But as a foursome, there aren’t many better singles lineups in the state. Mayo also looks in great shape in doubles where it has experience and talent. The leaders there are the No. 1 singles team of senior Colin Rieke and freshman Michael Poeschla. The other doubles combinations, which are also strong, consist of the No. 2 team of seniors Eric Newman and Brice Deschamps, and the No. 3 team of sophomore Andrew Johnson and eighth-grader Nick Ackerman.
Question marks? It might simply be whether Mayo can live up to its potential. It’s a team without any obvious deficiencies.
Coach says: "We have a very experienced team that has worked extremely hard during the off-season. Improving on our third-place state finish and having a lot of fun doing it are the clear goals this season." — Jeff Demaray
Returning varsity players
Seniors: Brice Deschamps, Eric Newman, Colin Rieke. Juniors: Thomas Nath, Eric Rustad. Sophomores: Andrew Johnson. Freshmen: Michael Poeschla, T. Connor Shives.
Other varsity candidates
Juniors: Alec Thicke. Sophomores: Sawyer Bock. Freshmen: Andrew Stroebel. Eighth-graders: Nick Ackerman. Seventh-graders: Ingrid Neel.
SCHEDULE
(All matches start at 4:30 unless otherwise noted)
April 14 — at John Marshall
April 18 — Edina
April 19 — Mankato East
April 21 — at Albert Lea
April 25 — at Blake, 4 p.m.
April 26 — Century
April 28 — at Winona
April 29 — at Lourdes, 4 p.m.
April 30 — at Edina Invitational, 8 a.m.
May 2 — Mankato West
May 3 — Austin
May 5 — at Eden Prairie, 4 p.m.
May 9 — at Wayzata, 4 p.m.
May 10 — at Owatonna
May 12 — Faribault
May 14 — at Big Nine tournament, Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center, 9 a.m.
May 17 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 19 — Section team tournament, TBD, 4 p.m.
May 24 — at section team tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
May 26 — at section individual tournament, TBD, 9 a.m.
May 31 — at section individual tournament, RAC, 9 a.m.
June 7-8 — at state team tournament, U of M, TBD
June 9-10 — at state individual tournament, U of M, TBD
