Few teams in Bay Rivers District history have dominated regular season competition the way Jamestown’s boys tennis team has during the past decade.
While the Eagles have won an astounding 71 consecutive matches against district opponents during their seven-year reign as Bay Rivers champions, veteran coach Bob Artis says the target on his team’s back is bigger than ever.
After losing its top three players from last season, Artis says Jamestown is as vulnerable in the perennially competitive district as it has been in years.
“We’re not taking anyone for granted,” Artis said. “We’re in a bit of a rebuilding mode and aren’t going to be as dominant as we’ve been the past few years.”
Though the Eagles do not possess the stardom of previous seasons, they remain the deepest team in the district and are heavy favorites to make it nine regular season district titles in a row.
But when asked if he thought this year’s district race will be the tightest since Jamestown last lost a match in 2006, Artis replied, “absolutely.”
The regular season race should be more interesting to follow this season given the parity in the district, but the new Virginia High School League alignment makes for an intriguing postseason. The new format breaks up the state into six classifications: Jamestown, Grafton, Tabb and Smithfield are in Class 4A; Lafayette, York, Warhill, New Kent and Poquoson are in 3A; and Bruton is the only Bay Rivers team in 2A.
With the new alignment comes better postseason advancement opportunities for Bay Rivers teams that have struggled to earn berths behind Jamestown.
Bruton’s Kurt Mittman, last year’s Bay Rivers District singles champion, is the top returning player and would be a leading favorite to repeat should such a tournament still exist. York’s Ethan Buck and Jamestown’s Derrick Neilson are among the district’s other top returning talents.
Below we offer a team-by-team season outlook for the seven area schools.
BRUTON HIGH
2013 district record: 7-2
2014 top returners: Kurt Mittmann, senior; Kyle McLaughlin, senior
2014 classification: 2A Conference 33
Season outlook: With a senior-laden team that gained valuable experience after helping Bruton make its first regional appearance since 2001 last spring, the Panthers appear poised to make another deep postseason run against schools of a similar size in the newly formed 2A playoffs. Leading Bruton at No. 1 is senior Kurt Mittmann, last year’s Bay Rivers District singles champion who returns as the district’s top player. The Panthers did lose three pieces from last year’s team, but experienced senior Kyle McLaughlin and senior newcomers Larry Legaspi, a starter on Bruton’s state-runner up basketball team, and Gloucester transfer Phillip Condra give eight-year coach James Barr a strong nucleus to work with.
GRAFTON HIGH
2014 top returners: Allen Tang, senior; Daniel Kang, junior
2014 classification: 4A Conference 19
Season outlook: New coach Bob Nealy, a tennis guru and coach since the early 1990s, takes over a Grafton team that has an intriguing balance of new and returning talent. Senior Allen Tang and junior Daniel Kang, who played doubles together last spring, are the top returners, although Nealy says junior Kevin Peng is the most improved player who worked his way to the No. 4 spot in the Clippers’ singles ladder. Freshman Nir Diskin, younger brother of former Group AA champion Yakov Diskin, is a rising star who should make an immediate impact in the district. Nealy says that while his team lacks stardom, great depth and balance should help them contend with any team in the district.
JAMESTOWN HIGH
2013 district record: 7-0
2014 top returners: Derrick Neilson, junior; Brad Mahaffey, sophomore; Rohan Kohli, junior
2014 classification: 4A Conference 19
Season outlook: While Jamestown may lack the star power it’s been known for during the better part of the last decade, depth is of no concern for veteran coach Bob Artis. Derrick Neilson, Brad Mahaffery and Rohan Kohli each played in the top six and helped the Eagles make their annual appearance in the Group AA state tournament. Joining the six-man ladder are two talented newcomers in senior Chandin Reddy, a transfer from Blacksburg who will play No. 2, and freshman Grayson Deberry, who will play No. 6. Rounding out the lineup is junior returner Nathan Campbell.
LAFAYETTE HIGH
2013 record: 5-4
2014 top returners: Drew Fairbanks, senior; Alec Gilliam, junior
2014 classification: 3A Colonial Rivers Conference 25
Season outlook: Drew Fairbanks and Alec Gilliam lead a senior-laden Lafayette team that returns four of its top six players from last season along with Alex Harding and Matt Deane. The Rams went 5-4 in the competitive BRD last season and Coach Richard Goode says another plus .500 expects another plus-.500 finish with sophomores Griffin Hurt and Jacob Clark joining the singles ladder. With Jamestown and Grafton headed to the 4A postseason, look for Lafayette to contend with York, Poquoson and Colonial Heights for one of the two 3A East Region tournament berths during the inaugural Colonial Conference 25 tournament.
TABB HIGH
2013 record: 3-6 BRD
2014 top returners: John Svendsen, senior; Jimmy Quing, sophomore
2014 classification: 4A Conference 19
Season outlook: Second-year coach Jay Roberson expects his Tigers to make great strides toward competing for a top spot in the district this spring after losing only one player from last year’s team. Roberson said all four of the freshman who started last year have improved significantly, none more so than Jimmy Quing, last year’s No. 2 who has played his way to the No. 1 spot ahead of senior and four-year player John Svendsen. With sophomores Robin Bai, Andrew Chung and Cameron Meehan also returning, Tabb has grown from being the youngest team in the district last season to one of the more experienced of the 10 schools this spring.
YORK HIGH
2013 record: 4-5
2014 top returners: Ethan Buck, senior; Josh McFadden, sophomore
2014 classification: 3A Colonial Rivers Conference 25
Season outlook: The Falcons are fairly young with two sophomores and a freshman starting in the singles’ rotation, but do return one of the district’s top talents in senior Ethan Buck, who placed third in the Bay Rivers District singles tournament last spring. The only other senior on the roster is transfer Johnathan Moulton, although fellow newcomer Walter Buck, Ethan’s younger brother, is a promising player who could make an immediate difference. Sophomores Josh McFadden and Denis Liu, who missed most of last season with an injury, give Coach Justin Keyes a competitive lineup that should compete for 3A Colonial Conference 25 hardware along with Lafayette and Poquoson.
WARHILL HIGH
2013 record: 4-5
2014 top returners: Jackson Cummings, sophomore; Koby Arndt, junior
2014 classification: 3A Colonial Rivers Conference 25
Season outlook: Last year’s No. 2 singles player Andrew Clayton is gone, but Coach Bob Hyatt returns every other starter from last season including his No. 1, sophomore Jackson Cummings. The one newcomer is sophomore Brian Shartzer, who Hyatt said will fill out his ladder nicely. With only seven players on the roster, depth is a concern. Hyatt says his team may still be a year away from competing with the district heavyweights, but looks forward to seeing how they stack up in the 3A playoffs.
