Lansing tennis achieves another perfect regular season

Last year, the Lansing boys tennis team utterly dominated the IAC, going undefeated in the regular season and winning the IAC Championship with relative ease. While their competition has markedly improved this time around, it’s the same old story for the Bobcats.

For the second straight season, Lansing has achieved another unbeaten regular season, winning all nine of their meets. Both unblemished campaigns have been overseen by Jamie Saroka. Their head coach hasn’t been the only constant the past two years, as most of last year’s starters also returned.

“That’s been very helpful because as a coach, you love to have the upperclassmen and the experience that they bring to the team,” Saroka said. “Being as successful as we were last year when they were all sophomores really helped with the program.”

The Bobcats came into this season as the clear team to beat. They didn’t get beaten much last year, losing only five matches out of a possible 54. This time around, they’ve dropped more matches (seven) out of fewer opportunities (45). While it’s still been an incredibly strong showing, the Bobcats have still had to step up their game.

“I’ve spent most of the time this year working on serves and improving their service moving from a flat serve to a slice serve,” Saroka said. “Some of the boys have picked up on that pretty well, which has helped them. The throw is so important, and once they get that down, then they can speed it up a little bit and put a little more oomph behind their serve. Apart from that, [we’re] working on topspin forehand returns, and the boys have been doing well in that.”

Out of their seven starters, the biggest change from last season comes at the top. Bernardo Simoes was the Bobcats’ number-one singles player, but the exchange student returned to his native Brazil. How fitting that another foreign exchange student has taken the mantle. Francizek Dos comes over to Lansing from Poland. Saroka has been impressed by his new talent.

“I like how he’s willing to learn,” Saroka said. “It’s nice that he comes with some experience. But it was hard setting up the ladder because my top five are pretty much equal in ability, whereas last year we had Bernardo who was pretty dominant. Franciszek is pretty much equal to Toby [Rigdon], Carter [Watts], Jackson [Clary], and Aidan [Maloney]. It came down to how I was going to use the different players in the different positions to best have the team succeed.”

Rigdon has thrived in the second singles spot. The junior went 7-2 during the regular season, and he’s aiming to improve his postseason performance after finishing runner-up in last year’s IAC Championship.

“Toby has improved so much with his serve, which has helped him to dominate lately,” Saroka said. “He’s taller than last year. He’s stronger than last year. That’s only beneficial for the team.”

Watts has also impressed in the third singles spot, posting a 7-2 record. The junior has shown great strides in multiple areas of his game.

“Carter can sometimes be his own worst enemy, and so we’re working on the mental part of the game,” Saroka said. “But he is also getting stronger and his serves are improving. When he can focus, he’s a dominant force, so it’s good.”

The Bobcats’ pair of doubles teams have been just as outstanding as the trio of singles players. Aidan Maloney and Jackson Clary have teamed up this season to great effect, going a perfect 7-0 together. 

The sophomore duo of Tolunay Ayar and Fisher Boerman joined forces for every meet in the regular season and won all their matches.

“Last year, I had them practicing but they weren’t part of the ladder,” Saroka said. “They played exhibitions last year. They’re two best friends, and they work very well together and have only gotten stronger. They have excellent communication on the court. They take pride in that, and it’s fun to watch.”

With sectionals taking place on May 9, the Bobcats aim to translate another stellar regular season into more postseason glory.

“Whenever you get into postseason play, there might be a little bit of pressure that kids can put on themselves,” Saroka said. “As a coach, I try to get them to see that, ‘Hey, let’s have fun just like we have during the season. Just play your game.’ Sectionals are a little different in the sense that the competition jumps up a notch. But hopefully we can stay strong and the kids can continue to play the way they’re capable of playing and just stay true to what they can do and not try to overdo it or work too hard, try to hit it too hard or make the perfect shot. Just play your game and I think we’ll be successful.”