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The annual reshuffling of the starting lineup shouldn't affect Clay's boys’ tennis team all that much this spring, according to coach Walt Ralph.
The Eagles, who opened the season with two wins in their first three matches, have nine varsity players this year, including four seniors. Clay suffered a 4-1 loss to Perrysburg, which has two of the top players in the area in Jeff Schortz and David Hoops.
However, Clay has earned team wins over St. Francis de Sales (4-1) and Oak Harbor (3-2).
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| Cody Wisniewski |
“We've got two singles players who have transitioned from playing doubles last year,” Ralph said.
They played second doubles last year and we moved them up to the second and third singles spots. It looks like it's been a pretty good transition for them. They have some singles skills that have shown through early in the season.
“We knew we had a pretty good first singles player, but it's important to have some depth underneath him. So far, they've come through for us. We have good depth. One of the things we do at Clay is get kids who work real hard at it.”
The Eagles' No. 1 singles player is junior Ryan Nelson, who played second singles last year and earned All-City League honors.
“That's a tough jump, from second to first singles,” Ralph said. “He's kind of struggling with that so far, with his confidence. We're trying to keep him positive and we're really confident he'll come around and make some adjustments there. He had some good wins for us last year.”
James DeMeyo, a sophomore who played second doubles a year ago, won his first three matches at No. 2 singles this season.
“We were excited about him at the end of last year,” Ralph said. “At sectionals we adjusted our lineup and we ended up playing him at singles, and he ended up qualifying into the district tournament. Then he played the No. 1 seed out of another sectional and played him tough, three sets. He's a good athlete with terrific feet, and he's quick to the ball. He's going to be a good one. He's a gritty kid who finds a way to win.”
Clay's No. 3 singles player is junior Alex Karoly, who played second doubles with DeMeyo last year. Karoly (2-1) earned honorable mention all-league honors in 2010.
“Alex is kind of an all-court type player and has good tennis strokes,” Ralph said. “We were a little worried coming into this season with moving his feet, but he's done a real good job.”
Senior Dustin Wooddell and junior Cody Wisniewski are teaming up at first doubles and have won one of their first two matches. Wooddell played first doubles last year.
“Cody was a varsity letterman last year and moved around different places,” Ralph said. “Dustin's got real good tennis strokes and hits good ground strokes. Cody is an athlete and he moves well, and he kind of has an aggressive style to him. He's a little more into attacking at the net and that sort of thing.”
The second doubles team of seniors John Glesser and Drew Young, both first-year varsity players, is off to a 2-1 start this season.
“John is a real big net presence,” Ralph said. “He's about 6-4, 6-5 and is intimidating and aggressive at the net. And for as big as he is, he moves pretty well. Drew hits his ground strokes well. When he stays nice and balanced with his serve, he has one of the nicer serves on the team. They set each other up well.”
Clay finished third behind St. John's Jesuit and St. Francis at last year's CL tournament, but Ralph said the Eagles could improve on that finish this season.
“We were excited about our win against St. Francis (last week),” he said. “Central has a real polished freshman who just moved into their lineup at No. 1. We'll see how we match up there. St. John's is definitely the cream of the league again. Their team from last year is all basically back this year. We like how we match up against the other teams.”
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