“We lost some good players from last year, we lost our best female,” Malemutes head coach Milo Griffin lamented during a telephone interview last week.
Among the losses were the graduations of conference and state boys state doubles champions, Drew Lanning and Tyler Loud, and conference mixed doubles titlists Zach Fitzgerald and MacKenzie Calvillo. Also, Tessa Bortje, the 2009 Mid Alaska girls singles winner, transferred to West Valley.
Coincidentally, the Malemutes open the season against the West Valley Wolfpack at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Dan Ramras Community Courts.
The first dual meets of 2010 actually take place today at when the North Pole Patriots host the Monroe Catholic Rams at 5 p.m. at North Pole High School and the Eielson Ravens face the Hutchison Hawks at 6 p.m. at The Athletic Club South
The following are previews of the six Mid Alaska teams.
Lathrop
The Malemutes open this season with a small varsity roster by Lathrop standards — five boys and girls each. Griffin plans to experiment with lineups and build his team slowly.
“I’m going to let them play, let them lose a little bit and hopefully it doesn’t hurt them,” the eighth-year coach said. “A lot of teams are in the same situation and this year, we’re an underdog.”
Lathrop does have a pair of strong juniors in Annalise Batchelder and Kade Fitzgerald.
“She (Batchelder) plays the ball pretty good and she’s willing to learn,” Griffin said. “His (Fitzgerald) groundstrokes are really hard. Some kids hit the ball with a little pace, but he has a heavy pace on his groundstrokes.”
West Valley
The Wolfpack are enjoying depth, as coach Debbie Miller’s squad boasts 30 players overall (17 junior varsity and 13 varsity).
“What I’m excited to see is we’re strong in both doubles and singles events, and just the skill level of the players” Miller said, “We’ve got some very quick-footed players.”
The Wolfpack also have a strong mix of sophomores and juniors this season.
Boertje, a junior, followed last season’s region success by repeating as the age-18 girls singles winner this summer in the Alaska Cup in Anchorage, and fellow junior Jill Phillips combined with the now-graduated Jenna Powers to win the conference girls doubles titles last year.
The Wolfpack boys include two with state tournament experience last year — junior Nick Raugust in boys doubles and sophomore Jeremy Weaver in mixed doubles — and a strong net player in sophomore Robbie Vehmeier.
Monroe Catholic
Playing in several U.S. Tennis Assocation-sanctioned junior tournaments this summer in the Pacific Northwest should help Rams senior Eric Ringstad contend for a second straight conference boys singles title and return to the state tournament, where he placed third last year.
“The last two years, he’s been in the championship round for the state tournament but the experience has gotten the best of him,” Monroe coach Bobby Trujillo said. “He should benefit from not only having the exposure from tournament play (in the Pacific Northwest), but it should prepare him mentally and physically for this season.”
The Rams are rich in boys — 11, including six freshmen — and have only one girl, freshman Jordyn Therriault.
Senior Dan Bunten is a strong net player for the Monroe boys and 6-foot-3 junior Dominick Mariutto’s athleticism should help, too.
“With his wingspan, if you put a 3 1/2-foot racquet in his hand,” said Trujillo, “there’s no ball he can’t get to.”
Hutchison
Seven players are out so far in Carol Woodard’s second year as head coach.
“Hopefully, we’ll get a couple more,” she said. “We have a lot of returners from last year, which is good, and school just started and people are starting to find about it (tennis).”
Among the returners is senior Kelsey Petersen, who placed fourth in girls singles at the 2009 state tournament.
“My philosphy is to be a good tennis player, you’ve got practice and apply yourself,” said Woodard, “and all summer, she’s been on the court.”
Lynette Thompson, a junior, is expected to contribute to the Hawks girls. Nico Wehner brings a solid forehand and backhand into his junior year for the boys side, which includes a promising freshman in Sam Caia.
North Pole
Peter Baksis is seeing a rarity in his first season as head coach — numbers. The Patriots have 21 players out so far.
“I think it’s a just a neat experience for the incoming freshmen and definitely, it’s the word of mouth of the upperclassmen,” he said Thursday during a rules clinic at the Dan Ramras Courts. “The word is getting around, and just the fact of the enjoyment that you get out of tennis is definitely something that’s pretty much given birth to this new insurgence.”
Amanda Ziegler brings a strong forehand and confident backhand into her senior season.
“The improvement she’s making now comes from her strong work ethic with her (personal) coach,” Baksis said.
Senior Adam Worster is a determined team captain for the Patriots boys.
“Not only does he bring a fun spirit to practices and matches,” said Baksis, “he has a willingness to succeed in the things he knows he’s going to be challenged with.”
Eielson
Jacob Tackett’s first season as head coach has included searching for players because the Ravens have only four so far.
Tackett said he has been happy with the preseason efforts of his quartet — freshman Jaleyne Gesin; sophomore Mikayle Lutz; junior Sarah Patterson and senior Taylor Jacobs.
“I’ll just be pretty much looking for good sportsmanship at the beginning of the season,” Tackett said. “It’s not about winning or losing. ... What matters is that they get out there and have fun and try their hardest.”
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