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When an individual has invested ample amounts of time and energy into his/her work and that process comes to a finish, a time for reflection ensues shortly thereafter. It is a time for which looking back and enjoying your experiences begins.
Greg LaFountain, a senior tennis player at Oak Harbor, is close to reaching that point, but he’s hoping to delay it for as long as possible as he enters postseason play.
Coached by his father, LaFountain has steadily improved throughout his tennis career, and, now, as a senior, he has one last chance to advance to Boys State Tennis Tournament.
This season, LaFountain is streaming along quite nicely, going 20-3 thus far.
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Oak Harbor Senior Greg LaFountain.
(Press photo by Yaneek Smith) |
On top of that, his list of career accomplishments is impressive.
He recently finished second in the singles competition at the Sandusky Bay Conference Meet a few weeks ago, earning First Team All-Conference status for the second year in a row. LaFountain was also named to the SBC’s Second Team during his freshman year, has qualified for the district tournament in each his first three years and won the sectional championship in 2008.
In addition to that, he recently broke the school record for boys’ career wins (77), previously held by doubles player and former teammate Brandon Wasserman, who graduated in 2010. Currently, he stands at 81 career victories.
LaFountain, who has been playing at No.1 singles exclusively since he started playing during his freshman year, has performed magnificently, winning 19, 21, 21 and 20 matches, respectively, in each of his four seasons of play. Had he started out playing second- or third-singles, where he would’ve competed against lesser competition, it’s quite possible that he’d have roughly 90-100 career victories.
All in all, LaFountain is content with what he has accomplished thus far.
“(This) has been one of the best seasons I’ve had,” said LaFountain of his senior campaign. “It was awesome getting the (school) record this year. It’ll be nice to see my name up on the (record) board at school.”
But he is not the only one in his family who has had success playing tennis.
Greg’s sister, Ashley, a sophomore, is a great tennis player in her own right. She is a two-time SBC and Sectional Champion who has qualified for the state tournament in each of her two years in high school, advancing to the final-8 this past October. She also holds the girls’ school record for career victories.
“Ashley reminded me her record was up after two years,” he said. “There’s a little competition between us.”
It’s all part of a little sibling rivalry that exists between the two when it comes to tennis, as they sometimes compete against one another.
“She always gives me trouble out on the court. We go back-and-forth all the time. We usually get too mad at each other so we can’t finish (the match).”
All of us can all relate to that in one way or another.
Greg’s father, Rick LaFountain, has been a presence in the area’s tennis community for nearly 20 years. Since 1992, LaFountain, a 1983 graduate of Oak Harbor High School, has coached either boys and/or girls tennis in Fremont or Oak Harbor. This is his second go-around as both the boys and girls coach at his alma mater, with his first stint as the girls coach taking place from 1991-97, and his first stint with the boys team taking place from 1992-94.
He’s also coached the tennis teams at Fremont Ross High School (boys coach, 1995-2006; girls coach, 2003-07), where he works teaching freshman history and government. In addition to having taught for 21 years, he has coached boys and girls tennis for a total of 33 seasons.
For Greg LaFountain, his success as a tennis player has been a long time coming.
As a young boy, he used to practice with his father and started competing in United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments at the age of 11.
His success this season can be attributed to several things: he’s become more focused, he practices year-round and he’s has lost 35 pounds and gotten into better shape.
“His tennis-playing is a little more mature,” said Rick LaFountain, “(and) his mental game is stronger than it was before.
Should LaFountain make it out of sectionals, he’ll advance to the district tournament in Bowling Green, where he’ll have one last shot at qualifying for the state tournament.
After he graduates later this month, LaFountain will attend the University of Toledo and plans on majoring in pharmacy. He will receive a partial academic scholarship from UT, as well as a $500 scholarship from the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association, which hands out just two each year. LaFountain is in his class’s top-10 in grade-point average and currently holds a 4.0 GPA.
LaFountain’s success has coincided with a resurgence in the boys tennis program at Oak Harbor.
Competing in a conference the features a powerhouse program in Port Clinton, Oak Harbor has managed to finish second in the SBC three years in a row (2007-09) and was third in the league last season.
The high point came in ’09 when all seven varsity members qualified for districts.
In the end, Rick LaFountain summed up his son’s chances for success in the upcoming postseason tournaments quite well.
“He sees the bigger picture and knows that if he stays in it mentally, he’ll have a chance at the end.”
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