There are boys on the De Soto boys tennis team.
But none of them are among the top six Dragon players.
That’s because girls have grabbed all six positions for singles play this season – at least so far.
De Soto head coach Rich Charboneau said the opposition is used to facing mostly girls. De Soto doesn’t have a girls tennis team, so by state rule the girls are allowed to make the boys team co-ed in the spring.
“We play the same teams every year and they know we have girls,” said Charboneau, who has coached the Dragons since 2003.
Last week, Charboneau’s squad hosted Windsor, which fields an all-boys team because the Owls offer girls tennis in the fall. De Soto’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Sydney Berry and Madison Spiker played Windsor’s Parker Schaefer and Caleb Rueweler.
Parker and Rueweler started off with a 3-1 lead, but the Dragon duo later closed the gap to 6-5 before the Owl duo prevailed 8-6. Windsor went on to win the match 8-1.
Berry and Spiker, both juniors, are De Soto’s top two singles players and are used to facing the boys. Berry finished third in No. 1 singles last season at the Jefferson County Activities Association championships. Spiker was fourth in the conference in No. 2 singles.
“Sydney is a softball player, so she has good hand-eye coordination,” Charboneau said. “Last year was her first year playing tennis. She picked it up well. I didn’t have to work very much with on her serves.”
This is Spiker’s third year on the team. She lost a close match to Berry to determine who would be No. 1.
“She works hard, but she needs to work on her backhand,” Charboneau said. “(Berry and Spiker) are very competitive and equal players.”
The Dragons’ Nos. 3-6 players are Michaela Badger, Madalyn Bone, Tiffany Davis and Anna Williams. Badger and Bone also play softball and made the all-conference team last fall.
“(Badger’s) not that far behind my first two players,” Charboneau said. “My first four players are really close.”
Sophomore Andrew Davis just started playing tennis but could challenge for a spot in the top six.
“He’s really into it, but he’s not real fluid yet,” Charboneau said.
As he sees it, the Dragons are improving and that’s the main thing.
“I’ve got a lot of young players,” he said. “A lot of these kids don’t come out until their sophomore or junior year. They play a year or two and then move on.
“We’ve had some good matches. All of our singles matches were very competitive against North County.”
The Dragons (0-5) host Festus on Tuesday.
Crystal City
The Hornets are off to a 3-2 start, including a 5-4 win over Festus on Friday and a 6-3 victory over De Soto on Monday. Crystal has a strong freshman presence, second-year head coach Mike Osher noted, although five of the top six players are seniors.
“We’ll lose five of our top players after this year, but we’ll be fine with the hard work my JV puts in at practice and has shown during games,” Osher said. “I can’t say enough about the dedication of our players.”
Mikey Cathcart is the Hornets’ No. 1 singles player and doubles up with Austin Sitz, who is No. 2 in singles. Michael Osher (the coach’s son and No. 3 player), Kelsey Wilkerson (No. 4), Trey Shaw (No. 5) and Nate Denby (No. 6) round out Crystal’s singles lineup.
As the coach noted, Cathcart is quick on his feet and can run down most balls. Wilkerson has a powerful serve that lands just inside the box. Osher can return tough shots and volleys very well. And the No. 3 doubles team, Shaw and Denby, has shown great chemistry.
Against Festus, Osher and Wilkerson won their No. 2 doubles match 8-3, and the No. 3 doubles pairing of Denby and Chiara Butorac won their match 8-5. Shaw (No. 4), Denby (No. 5) and Samantha Goodwin (No. 6) all won in singles to give the Hornets a one-point match victory.
“Playing Festus, there’s always pressure because the coaches, parents and players are so respectful,” Osher said.
Festus
The defending conference champions are 0-3 so far this year and have just one player – senior Michael Hawkins – returning to the top six.
But that doesn’t concern Tiger head coach Tom Thomas. He called off a practice last week because it was raining, and was informed later that all 16 players showed up anyway and started playing each other.
“I’ve been around a lot of teams and this is the kind of team that likes to practice,” Thomas said. “They’re hard-working and fun to be around.”
Hawkins was the Tigers’ No. 2 player last year and the four-year veteran is solidly entrenched as their top netter.
“He’s gotten to be a very good player,” Thomas said. “He has a lot of power and is very aggressive. He tended to not have a lot of control until this year.”
Multi-sport standout Alex Tinnin is the No. 2 but has more on her mind than tennis. The senior, who has signed to play volleyball at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., is playing club volleyball this spring, including traveling to tournaments. Thomas said if Tinnin had more time to commit to tennis, she’d be a top player in the county.
“She’s fearless and has a good serve,” Thomas said. “She has fairly good strokes but she’s erratic. If I could design a tennis player, she would fit the drawing.”
Sophomore Michael Esparsa, at No. 3, is in his second year on the team and Thomas said he’s going to be a fine tennis player, if not one of the best in the JCAA.
Sophomores Erica Fletcher, Carter Bowman, Bradley Berrey and Broxtyn Johnson and freshmen Julia Meyers and Alexis Cooper – rotate in and out of the last three singles positions.
“We’ll see who floats to the surface,” Thomas said.
St. Pius X
Fourth-year Lancer head coach Stephen Kainz encourages his players to seek instruction outside of the three months he has them. Kainz said since the school has only two tennis courts, there’s not enough space for his players to get their fair share of time.
“There are plenty of professional coaches who know more than I do,” Kainz said, adding that several members of the Lancer girls team, which he also coaches, took lessons in the offseason and rejoined the team last fall incredibly improved.
“I think other people saw that and are taking a cue from them,” Kainz said. “If they play tennis just two or three months a year, their play will deteriorate.”
Senior Curtis Null is a four-year member of the squad and the established No. 1 player. Combining power and finesse, Null was part of the Lancers’ conference-champion No. 1 doubles team last year.
“He can put (on) a lot of spin and slice the ball but also knows when to go big on his shots,” Kainz said.
Senior Kyle Madden, meanwhile, has become the Lancers’ “marathon man,” playing a number of extremely long matches in the past two years.
“He has a forehand that can get him out of tricky situations,” Kainz said.
Three sophomores – Luke Klahs (No. 3), Sam Tucker (No. 4) and Robert Vance (No. 6) – have earned their way into the lineup. Klahs also plays soccer and basketball for the Lancers and is a natural athlete. Kainz said Tucker is the most consistent player on the team. And Vance offers a combination of speed and consistency.
“That means he can outlast a lot of players,” Kainz said.
Senior Alex Donovan is the No. 5 player. He was part of the St. Pius No. 2 doubles team that won the JCAA championship last spring.
“Alex goes for broke on his shots,” Kainz said.
Null and Madden form the Lancers’ top doubles team this year, with Klahs and Tucker as the No. 2 duo.
Kainz said the Lancers are strong on the service game this year, “which is great because having a good serve can rescue you from tight situations and win you easy points.”
The Lancers are off to a good start at 3-1 and have a key match coming up April 21 when they host Windsor.
Windsor
The Owls, who finished tied for second with St. Pius X in last year’s conference tournament, have their entire singles lineup returning this spring.
But before anyone just hands the league trophy to Windsor for 2017, a word of caution from head coach Doc Carranza.
“We’re probably not as strong as we usually are,” said the longtime tennis mentor.
Nos. 1-6 for the Owls are Parker Schaefer, Caleb Rueweler, Nathan Harrington, Alex Barton, Chris Schmidt and Taylor Brown. Rueweler, Brown and Schmidt are seniors.
Carranza’s goals are always the same.
“We want to win conference and district and get as many as we can to the state tournament,” he said.
Not much separates Schaefer and Rueweler, who was a sectional qualifier last season. Schaefer plays the baseline and has a good backhand.
“That keeps him in a lot of matches,” Carranza said of his No. 1. “If you can rally, you can win.”
Carranza said he laments that most high school players don’t serve and volley.
“That’s gone the way of the three-wheeler,” he said. “People don’t like to volley anymore.”
Schmidt is a four-year veteran of the team, while Brown is back for his third season. Barton and Harrington, the No. 2 doubles partners at the Nos. 3-4 singles slots, have beaten the doubles pairing of Schaefer and Rueweler in practice.
The Owls are 2-2 so far this season and host Arcadia Valley today (April 13).