The boys’ tennis team has taken their skill to the next level in the second half of their season.

“The season is going well,” senior Simon Warchol said. “We’ve definitely improved a lot since last year.”

The team is led by senior captains Simon Warchol, Sagar Yadama, and Marshall McKinley.

“This year our senior captains have really stepped up their game and have proved to be important pieces in defeating the better teams,” freshman Mac Rechan said. “Sagar Yadama, Simon Warchol, and Marshall Mckinley provide the leadership necessary to win going forward.”

The skill and athleticism of not only seniors but also freshman on the team has helped them pull out several important wins.

“We have two very talented and highly ranked freshman, Mac Rechan and Joey Dulle  who are on the team and have immediately made an impact,” Luten said. “Our record is 8-3 with the three losses coming from three top schools who will probably be competing at State.”

Warchol is confident about Clayton’s chances in the state tournament because of the strength of each player in the top six varsity spots.

“The returning varsity members in the top six, including Jake Lee, Jack Holds, Sagar Yadama, and Dylan Schultz, combined with freshmen Mac Rechan and Joey Dulle have made our district team as formidable as any of our opponents,” Warchol said.

Additionally, the return of injured junior player Jack Holds has helped the team’s success.

“Jack Holds, after being injured almost all of last year is back at our number four spot,” Yadama said. “His strokes have improved a lot.”

Junior Jake Lee has also improved his game, becoming an essential part of the varsity team.

“Jake is our number two,” Yadama said. “He almost beat Matt Wolfe in the MICDS match which is a great accomplishment.”

Luten says the team’s dedication and frequency of off-season play is what has made the difference for such a successful team this year.

“The greatest strength of the 2011 boys Varsity Tennis Team is that we have a team of extremely talented and experienced players who play tennis all year long,” Susie Luten said. “In order to compete in the post season, you need to have these kinds of players.”

This year the team has had more success against teams that have usually been challenging in the past.

“We’ve had a couple of close losses to MICDS and Westminster, but have been able to trounce teams such as Ladue, Kirkwood, and Burroughs, who usually give us a hard time,” Warchol said.

Despite these encouraging wins, the team is not fully satisfied, and looks for a chance to redeem themselves at the state tournament.

“The season has been relatively successful,” Mac Rechan said. “We have three losses in matches we felt were winnable, so we would like to get some revenge on those teams heading into state.”

Warchol is also looking forward to the state tournament.

“The team is looking to improve at state, because we should have a chance to make up for our closest matches against MICDS and Westminster there,” Warchol said.

The team’s biggest success is a point of contention among the players, with so many important wins.

“Our greatest success as a team was defeating Kirkwood 5-2 in which was also my biggest win against Drew Morris,” Rechan said.

The team’s chemistry and support of one another is a big advantage. However the team is still looking to gel even more as the competition stiffens late in the season.

“Our team is looking to improve our overall togetherness heading into state which will be vital to our success in the district and state tournament,” Rechan said.

Yadama also points out that matches depend on both singles and doubles results, and therefore an exclusive focus on singles play must be avoided.

“Although singles is the highlight of most matches, we are looking not to shortchange doubles as the outcome of doubles matches will determine the winner of the overall match,” Yadama said.

Yadama recalled Rechan’s match against Morris as his favorite memory of the season.

“My favorite memory of the season was when Mac Rechan destroyed Kirkwood’s number 1 player Drew Morris,” Yadama said.

Luten was also very proud of the win against Kirkwood.

“Our best win was against Kirkwood because we haven’t beaten them in many, many years,” Luten said.

Yadama cites the Ladue match as the most important of the season.

“The greatest success so far was beating Ladue,” Yadama said. “Since they are our rivals it was nice to squash them in the match, and since they are of the best in our district we know we can make it to state.”

According to Warchol, the most significant match was Burroughs.

“My favorite memory of the season was beating Burroughs 9-2, because they beat us in district finals last year,” Warchol said.

Luten agrees with Warchol’s opinion, because Burroughs is an important team to beat heading into the state tournament. However, as always, each player has had challenging matchups against athletes from other schools throughout the season.

“My most challenging match was the one in which I lost to Charlie Curtis of MICDS, who is also a good friend of mine,” Rechan said. “He’s a tough player to play against for me, but hopefully I’ll get another shot at state.”

The team is undefeated in their district, a record that Warchol chalks up to the depth of the varsity squad.
“Our undefeated district record is definitely a plus,” Warchol said. “But the overall team depth is our greatest strength, and will definitely serve us as districts approach.”

The younger players are enthusiastic and optimistic for future years, despite the loss of such strong senior players.

“My hopes for next season and beyond is to win at least one individual state title and help my team to a team state title,” Rechan said.