Eagles Battle From Bottom To Top In Tennis

Call them upstarts or surprises. Call them anything you like. But be sure to call them champions.

West Valley’s boys tennis team won the Frontier League title for the first time since 1988, one year after finishing last.

The team finished 9-1 in league and 13-2 overall.

“Here’s the kicker,” said second-year coach Wally Heidenson. “Seven of the league matches ended 4-3 and went down to the final match. We won six of them.”

Their lone loss was also 4-3 and came in the season finale with Clarkston after they’d already secured the championship.

“Where I was really proud of the kids, a lot of different ones came through,” said Heidenson.

For example, freshmen number three doubles players John Huckabay and Nick Fusari won only twice, he said. Both times were important to the outcome.

“We concentrated on fundamentals and playing the percentages. We stressed giving 110 percent each day in practice and on every point of every match,” said Heidenson. “League balance put us in a position to be competitive. Last year some teams were so strong no matter how hard we worked you could only do so much.”

WV never missed a day of practice, even when forced inside by a cold and rainy spring. Seven varsity players, who struggled through last year’s 1-9 and 4-16 season, orchestrated the turnaround.

Included were seniors Bryan Foss and Seth Mork, who alternated the first through third singles with Heidenson’s freshman son Keli, number four singles Duane Lutz and the number one doubles team of David Thompson and Jason Sullivan that lost only once all year.

“They really laid the foundation and set the tone,” said Heidenson. “Out of our four singles and first doubles, a lot of times we’d win our four matches.”

Number two doubles players Kyle Schiewe and Jade Taylor were the other varsity veterans who were part of the turnaround.

Eight freshmen, said Heidenson, have profited from WV’s success. “I’ve never been as pleased with a bunch of kids,” said the former Community Colleges of Spokane coach.

“Hopefully they (all the players) learned that if you’re willing to put effort into something, whether studies, relationships or whatever, if you stay with it it’s amazing what you can do.”

, DataTimes