Moving Forward: Boys Tennis Preview
Boys tennis team see benefits in playing against state’s elite in CBL.
The Worthington Christian boys tennis team didn’t have a player advance out of the Division II sectional tournament at Columbus School for Girls’ Kirk Campus last season. The Warriors, however, saw the blueprints of what it would take to get there.
Half of the singles field and half of the doubles bracket at the Division II district tournament came from Central Buckeye League (CBL) rivals Bexley and Columbus Academy.
“The advantage of playing in the CBL is that it gives our team an opportunity to play against the best high school players in the state,” said coach Derek Stone, whose team finished 6-12 overall and finished fourth in the league with a 3-3 record. “(We get the chance to) learn what it takes to be a top-level player and to demonstrate humility and grit in giving it our all.
“The disadvantage is that it is easy to become discouraged and intimidated by them.”
Bexley’s Henry Lessard, a sophomore this season, captured the Division II state singles title with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over Pepper Pike Orange’s Chika Nwaozuzu. Academy’s Nason Lo, now a junior, lost to Nwaozuzu 6-4, 1-0 in a state quarterfinal after withdrawing due to injury in the second set.
The Vikings’ Lucas Xue and Rowen Lo, who are seniors, placed fourth in the state doubles tournament. Bexley senior Sam Lessard and graduate Oscar Ramsden lost to Cincinnati Indian Hill’s RJ Poffenberger and Neelan Gandhi 6-2, 6-4 in a state quarterfinal.
Since 2019, Bexley and Academy have produced 17 of the area’s 20 Division II state qualifiers in singles and doubles.
“It’s a challenge when we go up against the best,” said junior Dylan Decker, who was knocked out of the Division II sectional quarterfinals after a 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-4 loss to London’s Isaac Capell. “It makes me strive to want to be better. (Every time we play top-caliber players), I want to go in, give all the glory to God, and try my hardest.”
The Warriors haven’t had a player reach the district singles tournament since Ajai Smith made it in 2018 but qualified in doubles in 2018, 2019, and 2023. Joel Montgomery (WC ’14), who lost in a Division II state singles quarterfinal in 2014, is the school’s last state qualifier.
Worthington Christian returns four players who played in the CSG sectional tournament last year. In addition to Decker, the team returns junior Matthew Paul, who defeated Grandview’s Graham Nelson 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the first round and lost to eventual fourth-place finisher Zach Wall of London 6-3, 6-1 in a sectional quarterfinal. Decker and Paul shared second-team all-league honors last season as the Warriors finished fourth behind Bexley (6-0), Academy (5-1), and Grandview (4-2).
“Matthew was a very solid player last year, playing both on the first and second court,” Stone said. “I expect him to continue to play well this year.
“Dylan has been working hard this off-season, training on and off the court and playing in USTA tournaments. He has improved a ton from last year. His passion for tennis and the effort he puts into improving it are so encouraging to me and the team.”
The Warriors also return sophomore Noah Shemenski and junior Daniel Ji, who lost to London’s Jacob Adkins and Will Kerry 6-3, 6-0 in the first round of the doubles tournament. The team also returns senior Cooper Maehl and junior Ethan Reale, who didn’t play in the sectional tournament.
“Those four should have a big impact on the team and have been playing a lot of tennis in the off-season,” Stone said. “Daniel and Ethan have been great spiritual leaders for our team.”
The Warriors, however, sustained a setback before the season started. Freshman Luke Stone underwent ankle surgery and must sit out the season.
“Luke was expected to make a big contribution to the team this year in singles,” coach Stone said. “He plans to be back on the court this summer and ready for next year.”
Coach Stone learned a couple of lessons in his first season of coaching the Warriors.
“The season is short,” he said. “In practice, I need to be more focused on fundamentals, especially serving consistency and footwork. We need to try to build more unity by letting students lead in different areas and seek to do things outside of the season.
“(Last year) was an uphill battle with a young team that hadn’t played much with each other, new coaches that had split time between middle school and high school, and poor weather. We had a good start to the season, but injuries and having so many back-to-back matches wore us down. We’re much more hopeful for this year with so many returning players.”
Coach Stone stated success this year will not be centered solely on win-loss records or advancing players beyond the sectional tournament. What he’d like to see is growth in their love for the Lord and improvement in the fundamentals.
“We’re going to focus more on the things we can control, like conditioning and team unity,” he said. “It’d be great to see us finish in the upper third of the league in terms of wins and losses. I think we can get there with the extra year of experience and all the work the boys have put into their game this offseason.”
“We’ve had a lot more players show up to training during the winter, so I’m excited (about our potential),” Decker added.