Time for tennis

Every once in a while, Kevin Trim admits, he takes a walk around the Spokane Club’s tennis courts after he finishes with his last lesson of the day, and looks to see if any of his Central Valley High School players are still around.

The club’s professional, Trim doubles as head boys tennis coach at CV. But it doesn’t take a teaching pro to understand the importance of having players who play outside of the high school season.

“You can’t put the racquet down when the season ends in June and not play until we start turnouts and expect to be successful,” Trim said. “We keep encouraging the kids to at least keep hitting and playing over the summer. If we can get them interested in playing some junior tennis tournaments, so much the better.”

Stan Chalich, the head girls coach at CV, agrees.

“This time of year, you can really see the difference if the girls take the weekend off,” he laughed. “With some of them, it’s like starting over. Like any other sport, you have to keep hitting and you have to keep playing if you want to improve.”

Trim said the boys tennis programs in the Central Valley School District are at a distinct disadvantage. There are less than two dozen players out for the Bears’ boys squad while the girls have a turnout of 75.

“We don’t have a middle-school feeder program for boys the way the district has for girls,” he said. “That makes it harder for us to get guys out to play. We get guys who haven’t picked up a racquet before.

“We’re working hard and I think we’re teaching some good habits.”

Still, the Bears and much of the Greater Spokane League are behind schools like Lewis and Clark and Ferris, which attract players with year-around experience.

“They get kids who are club players and kids who have been taking lessons their whole life and you can really tell the difference,” Trim said. “They play at a whole different level.

“But aside from that, I think we’ll be competitive with the rest of the league.”

Central Valley

Trim’s squad will be led by a quartet of seniors.

Jake Igo moves up to play No. 1 singles with Matthew Bruhn at No. 2. Ryan Whitehead and Benjamin Chlanda will play No. 1 doubles.

“We were fourth at the Lewiston Invitational and we looked pretty good,” Trim said. “And we had a very good match with Southridge. We’re going to take the team to the Tri-Cities Invitational later on this season, so we’ll get plenty of experience against good competition.”

Senior Jie Jiao has been a four-year varsity player for the Lady Bears and takes over as the team’s No. 1 singles player. Junior Candice Mihlke, and sophomores Alex Kern and Randi Wilson round out the singles contingent.

Seniors Stefanie Skeman and Vanessa Tinoco are the school’s No. 1 doubles team. Sisters Kim and Janelle Gravos, along with junior Ashley Durkee, have combined as the No. 2 doubles team with sophomores Abby Gehrett and Natalie Block playing No. 3.

Junior Danika Pariseau should have an impact on the lineup once she makes up for lost time.

“She’s been off watching her sister (Reagan) play basketball in the NCAA tournament,” Chalich said. “I guess I can excuse that.”

The coach has a solid group of freshmen that he wants to get a look at in competition.

East Valley

Jessica Casebier took over as the Knights No. 1 singles player last year and reached the state Class 3A tournament. This year the senior is determined to get back.

“I think playing in the state tournament was a real eye-opening experience,” coach Mike Smith said. “You really get the chance to see some top-level tennis being played and it shows you just what you have to do to improve.”

No. 2 singles player, junior Miranda Brother, was an All-GSL singles pick after her freshman season. Sophomore Desi Rainey will play No. 3 singles.

Maddie Hogan, a junior, and Hailey Rile, a sophomore, team up to the team’s No. 1 doubles team.

Boys coach Roger Taylor has made big strides with his program. The school canceled the program for the 2004 season and last year brought in Taylor after five seasons as an assistant coach at Mt. Spokane.

“I have 33 players out this year and we’re doing awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with their progress.”

Brad Benson will be the team’s No. 1 singles player, with Corbin Dial, Lonnie Quirk and Chad Pattison playing Nos. 2 through 4, respectively.

Matt Mehlbreck and Kenji Scouton will play No. 1 doubles.

University

Who will play No. 1 singles for the Titans depends on what day it is.

“We have two guys, (junior) Taylor Hendrickson and (senior) Brian Fredrickson, competing for that spot,” coach Jessica Walters said. “Right now they’ve been taking turns beating each other in challenge matches, so we have a different No. 1 for every match.”

The pair battled last year for the No. 3 singles spot while seniors Josh Steele and Carlos Campos battled for the top two positions

Having stiff competition of the top singles spot also insures the Titans of a strong, hungry No. 2 singles player every match.

Juniors Sean Flatow and Jacob Gauche are the team’s No. 1 doubles team.

Senior Allie Tabish moves up to No. 1 singles for coach Julene Osborn, with junior Heather Fried at No. 2. Sophomore Jessi Steele, sister of three-year No. 1 Josh who graduated in 2006, starts at No. 3.

The team of senior Katie Tenney and junior Hailey Parrish returns at No. 1 doubles. The team played No. 2 doubles when Parrish was a freshman.

West Valley

The Eagles girls have just three players back with experience from last year’s GSL season and coach Clay Nelson does not expect a fall-off in the level of competition his team will face in its first season in the Great Northern League.

Senior Melissa Johns steps up giving the young squad a strong senior leader. Junior Hilary Hargrove is a strong singles player with a shot at reaching the state Class 2A tournament, and sophomore Stephani Starmer has improved from her freshman season.

Nelson said the GNL schedule will force him to settle on doubles teams earlier than in years past, but he has a strong group to choose from.

“(We’re) going to have to grow up fast to keep up with the league this year, but I know that they’re up to the task,” he said.

Boys coach Jamie Nilles goes with senior Nick Raskell as his No. 1 singles player, followed by junior Chase Baxter and sophomore Chris Chappell.

Sophomores Eric Fair and Tye McClellan will play No. 1 doubles, with juniors Bryan Felix and Brian Bergan at No. 2.

Freeman

Coach Pia Longinotti has a young group on both sides of her squad – neither boys nor girls team will feature a senior in the starting lineup.

Junior Gabe Rice-Erso will lead the boys in Northeast A League play, with junior K.C. Wolfe at No. 2.

Junior Ty Thomas and sophomore Aaron Verhei are the No. 1 doubles team, followed by the freshman team of Cameron Floch and Kyle Toner.

Juniors Bree Riddle and Leigh Talbott will play Nos. 1 and 2 singles for the girls squad. Freshmen Katie Bauer and Blair Riddle are the No. 1 doubles team with juniors Kat Driscoll and Hanna Robinson at No. 2.