Depth, Offseason Training Pegged as Reasons for VHS Boys Tennis Team Success

The focus and intensity were evident on the faces of the VHS Boy's Tennis team on Thursday as they prepared for the game against rival Portage. It was Senior Night, and with only 1 conference season loss thus far, the Vikings were looking to add another "W" to the season on home court.

As the teams lined up on court, they awaited the introduction and recognition of the Vikings 5 seniors, escorted by their parents.

"The highlight of the season thus far has been the boys all coming together and playing as a team," said Head Coach Tim Shideler. "Our goal for the season is to finish in the top 3 in our conference."

Shideler says the team's success is attributed to their work ethic off season. All the varsity players have played on JV and worked their way up. Of the 7 varsity members, 5 of them are seniors.

'What makes this team strong is that we're equally balanced. We're solid in every position from top to bottom."

In tennis, it's always about consistency and the coach feels this team is doing a pretty good job with that. He feels there is some work still needed in terms of learning to control the point, along with being a little more aggressive from time to time.

Team standouts include the #1 Doubles Team of seniors Alex Yiankes and Andj Lehnen, remain undefeated in the DAC this year. "We've had a pretty successful season as a team," said Lehnen. "I think it just shows how far we've all come as tennis players and as a team." Yiankes was in agreement that the team had made tremendous progress this year.

Senior Max Abraham shared, "What makes this senior night special to me is having my last home match with all the people that I have become friends with over the past two to three years now and how much we have progressed. I remember us being little sophomores running around on the court not having a clue what we were doing. It's going to be nice to look back at all this in a few years when we all go our separate ways."

Matt Evans, Assistant Coach, works primarily with the JV team to hone skills needed to play at the Varsity level. He recommends that incoming tennis players stay active in tennis clubs and continue working in the offseason. He adds that they see many players come over from other sports because tennis compliments some other sports so well.

"In the end, tennis is a lifelong sport. It's one of those sports that your not going to just play in high school or college. We have fans of our sport that are still playing at 81."

Eric Yiankes, senior, #3 singles, is savoring the moment of his last home match. His words of wisdom to his fellow teammates and underclassmen is, "Don't slice!"

Coach Evans continued, "It's imperative that we keep improving from day one to the final day of the season. This season has been no different. We've had great improvement the whole way. Every kid has improved. We give a lot of instruction because a lot of these kids are new to the sport while some are working the skills of serving, return, strategy and being a good competitor on the court.

Check out photos from the Senior Night meet!