Tiger boys tennis team is young, but ready for action

Talk about it

Five of the 10 players in the New Richmond lineup had never played in a varsity match before the Tigers took to the courts in Menomonie last Thursday for the 2011 season opener.

That lack of experience didn’t bother the Tigers. They showed poise and promise in winning the non-conference match 5-2.

Playing in their first official varsity matches were Mike Stoffel, Pat Holland, Nick Bradish, Isaiah Hobbs and Joe Deppe.

While the Tigers may be a bit inexperienced, coach Mike Montello is upbeat about the team’s prospects this season. He was full of praise for the competitiveness of the lineup and the improvement the younger Tigers have made to make themselves into varsity players.

Montello has some holdovers who give him a strong core to build around. Seniors Justice Harvieux, Jorden Aufderhar, Charlie Gartner and Buck O’Flanagan and junior Charlie Kleiner have all been in the varsity lineup at least a year, most of them longer.

The Tigers will be strong at the top of their lineup. In Harvieux and Bradish, the Tigers have two players who are fully capable of being consistent winners at one singles. Bradish played one singles at Menomonie, scoring a 7-5, 6-2 win. He trailed 5-2 in his opening set. He was able to relax and pick off five straight games to win the set.

“He showed amazing resiliency,” Montello said.

Harvieux teamed with Aufderhar to get the Tigers a win at one doubles. They lost the opening set 6-2 before coming back for the win.

The rest of the singles lineup was Gartner, Hobbs and Deppe. Gartner is still recovering from a shoulder injury from wrestling, which held him back on Thursday.

Montello said Deppe’s win at four singles was a bright spot. Deppe and Hobbs moved up from the middle of last year’s JV lineup to earn spots on the varsity this year.

The Tigers swept the doubles flights. O’Flanagan and Stoffel teamed up to win at two doubles and Kleiner and Holland controlled the action at three doubles.

Junior varsity Tigers who scored wins at Menomonie were Jordan Kvam, Adrian Harvieux, Lars Poppy, Boyd Stacken, Jake Taubman and Vitaliy Gutsal.

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, when they compete in a tournament at La Crosse Central. The Tigers kick off their Middle Border Conference season next Tuesday, with a home match against Ellsworth.

New Richmond 5, Menomonie 2

Singles

No. 1: Nick Bradish (NR) def. Eric Besse 7-5, 6-2

No. 2: Taylor Pitt (M) def. Charlie Gartner 6-2, 6-1

No. 3: Dan Simpson (M) def. Isaiah Hobbs 6-3, 6-3

No. 4: Joe Deppe (NR) def. Henry Winter 6-4, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1: Jorden Aufderhar and Justice Harvieux (NR) def. Xavier Schwartz and Dexter Chronis 2-6, 7-5, 6-3

No. 2: Buck O’Flanagan and Mike Stoffel (NR) def. Cody Sandberg and Chris Pabich 6-4, 6-3

No. 3: Pat Holland and Charlie Kleiner (NR) def. Ian Scammel and Andrew Rhodes 6-1, 6-4

Tags: sports, tigers, tennis, prep