Boys tennis team swings into season

The boys tennis team finished third at district last year and earned a fourth place finish at state. Ten returning varsity players have hopes of doing even better this season.

Four seniors return to the squad, including Evan Sims, Charlie Phillips, Shayma Ellis and John Thomas.

Sims was voted as this year's team captain and will play No. 1 singles. Sims has made an appearance at the state tournament the past two years and last year earned a third place finish in doubles. He is a serve and volley player and has great hands at the net.

Phillips will play No. 2 singles and can be a serve and volley player or a baseliner.

Ellis spent the last trimester in Nepal and just returned to join the team. Coach Boyd Stuwe told The Nugget he hasn't seen him play yet this season but noted he improved his game tremendously last season and will play the No. 3 singles position.

Junior Will Newport will play No. 4 singles.

"Will wants to play at the No. 4 position but is totally capable of playing higher," said Stuwe. "He has a much improved backhand."

Dylan Stuwe and Eric McKinley (juniors) will play No. 1 doubles for the Outlaws. Both players have big serves but very different styles.

"Dylan has an active serve with more spin, and Eric has more of a boomer or heavy serve," said Stuwe. "Eric's serve may take the racket out of your hand, and with Dylan's you may never touch the ball."

There are so many players vying for the No. 2 doubles position that Coach Stuwe has yet to make a final decision for that spot.

Brothers, Sam and Ben Fullhart are two of the players who will be contenders for that position.

"These guys have very similar games," said Stuwe. "Sam has been with us since the start of the program and has made huge improvements in all facets of his game, particularly his ground game. He gets everything back."

Eric Sellgren will also play doubles and bring his own unique style of play to the game.

Sophomore Sean Tosello rounds out the returning varsity players and will also play doubles. Tosello's best stroke is his forehand, and he also has a much improved game since last season.

New to the team this year will be Thomas Bennett, Matt Pilliod, Scotty Everson and Ben Fullhart.

Thomas (junior) joined the tennis team last year and is fairly new to the game. Coach Stuwe stated that Thomas has made the most progress of any player he's seen in that period of time. Thomas plays with a lot of energy and will play doubles with Pilliod, who is also a junior.

"These guys will be strong contenders for a varsity spot," said Stuwe. "They are natural athletes with great hand-eye coordination."

Fullhart and Everson are both freshman, and Coach Stuwe looks for them both to be standout players who will play varsity all year long.

The team hopes to finish the season with either a first or second place finish at district and would like to send at least four players to the state tournament.

The Outlaws are scheduled to play their first match of the season against Stayton at Black Butte Ranch, on Friday, March 14. Unless the snow melts quickly, there is a good chance the match will be held in Madras.