Four state singles champions lead talent-laden Stevens

By Jim Holland, Journal staff | Wednesday, April 04, 2007

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RAPID CITY - The 2006 boys high school tennis season is going to be a tough act to follow for Rapid City Stevens.

The Raiders earned their first-ever state title in 36 years last May during the first state boys tournament held in Rapid City since 1970.

Stevens, led by cousins Corey and Billy Paluch and a roster loaded to the gunnels with talent, amassed a 25-0 season dual mark, then piled up a state tournament-record 750 points by claiming four of six singles flights and all three doubles flights.

Corey Paluch, with 126 victories is the winningest boys singles player in state history, has moved on to college tennis with South Dakota State, joining teammate Aaron Holland and Raider alum Steve Grantz with the Jacks.

But the Raiders remain plenty stout, and indeed the odds-on pick to repeat, with perennial challenger Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Aberdeen Roncalli picked to be contenders.

Stevens coach Jason Olson said the Raiders' biggest challenger could be complacency.

"We can't be thinking that it's going to be easy because we have so many (players) coming back," he said. "Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Aberdeen Roncalli are going to be so strong. There's going to be teams to challenge us if we're not ready."

Still, the crown belongs to Stevens until another team earns it.

"Without question, Rapid City Stevens is the favorite for this year's state title," O'Gorman coach Don Barnes said. "They might even be better than last year's championship team."

"Stevens will be tough to beat for a few years with young talent and easily the favorite to win state, unless O'Gorman gets new recruits," agreed Huron coach Mike Knigge.

The Raiders return all four singles champions, Billy Paluch, Gib Moyle, Jack Hamburg and J.J. Schultz, and No. 5 singles runner-up Cody Malik.

Runner-up O'Gorman will reload without defending No. 1 singles champion Roman Dojcak and No. 2 runner-up Nolan Wiese.

Docjak, a native of Slovakia playing college tennis at Gonzaga, and Wiese, signed with Brevard College in North Carolina, placed second to the Paluch in No. 1 doubles.

Like Stevens, O'Gorman has a slew of young but experienced players to fill in the roster.

Returning are Flight 3 singles runner-up Jameson Goetz, a sophomore, Flight 5 champion Brad Entwistle (8th) and Flight 6 singles runner-up Andrew Billion, a junior.

"Stevens returns the most, but O'Gorman will challenge Stevens. Don Barnes has a great program. They are very young, but deep and will get better as the year goes on," said Raider coach Jason Olson.

Rapid City Central is also rebuilding after losing No. 1 Ryan Barber, and No. 2 Jason Slingsby to graduation.

The Cobblers will bank on returnees Dexter Lappe, a senior, along with juniors Evan Sims and Cale Barber and sophomores Tom Tolman and Daniel Tully.

Sims and Cale Barber finished second in Flight 2 doubles, and Barber was runner-up to Hamburg in No. 4 singles for the Cobblers. Sims and Barber will again team up in doubles, but will be moved up to the No. 1 slot.

"We'll have a solid team, but any time you lose your No. 1 and No. 2 players, you have to be rebuilding," said second-year coach Scott Sturlaugson, who will be assisted this year by Doug Lecy. "Our younger players will have to step up, and they'll have to be playing up a couple levels."

Also in a retooling mode is St. Thomas More/Rapid City Christian, which scored a school record 200 points and finished 11th at state last year.

The Seth Keene-coached Cavaliers lost eight seniors, and will rebuild with returning letterwinners senior Taylor Nielsen, junior Ian Kopriva and sophomore Cody Kopriva.

Team capsules:

Sioux Falls Roosevelt

Coach: Terry Grove, sixth year.

Last season's record: 16-3.

Season's outlook: "We will have a very young team, but have some good players that we can build on," said Grove.

Promising prospects: Mitch Barr, Kyle Lambeutz, Brock Wecldryer.

Letterwinners missing: Ryan Lambeutz (USD/SDSU), Bojan Jaksie (USF), Evan Thomas, Mike Sullivan (Nebraska), Codie Schmeichel (USF).

Conference favorite: Sioux Falls O'Gorman.

Sioux Falls O'Gorman

Coach: Don Barnes

Last season's record: Second at state.

Season's outlook: "We might be young, but we have players with plenty of talent, plus we always have high expectations at OG; that's our mantra. We still return four starters from last year's team, none of which are seniors and they're all experienced off season tournament players," said Barnes.

Returning letterwinners: Juniors Paul Fahrendorf and Andrew Billion; sophomore Jameson Goetz; and eighth-grader Brad Entwistle.

Promising prospects: Junior Michael Hanna; sophomores David Hanna and Hans Tanner; freshman Kevin Rance; and eighth-grader Elliot Czarnecki.

Letterwinners missing: Roman Dojcak, Nolan Wiese and Michael Billion.

Conference favorite: Rapid City Stevens. "We do play (Stevens) three times," Barnes said. "We can use that to try and improve as we approach the state tournament."

Rapid City Central

Coach: Scott Sturlaugson, second year.

Last season's record: 12-8 overall and 3-4 in GDC

Season's outlook: "We will be young-one senior letterwinner returning. We lost our No. 1 and No. 2 to graduation. So our younger players need to step up," said Sturlaugson.

Returning letterwinners: senior Dexter Lappe; juniors Evan Sims, Cale Barber; sophomores Tom Tolman, Daniel Tully.

Promising prospects: Shamus O'Daniel, Karsten Jordan, Joe Stanley, Jonathan Ries.

Letterwinners missing: Ryan Barber (SD Mines), Jason Slingsby.

Conference favorite: "R.C. Stevens," said Sturlaugson.

Rapid City Stevens

Coach: Jason K. Olson, ninth year.

Last season's record: State champions with 25-0 overall and 7-0 in GDC

Season's outlook: "We lost Corey Paluch and he will be hard to replace, but we have a lot of talent coming back," said Olson.

"We have four or five guys who could play No. 1 on just about any team in the state."

Returning varsity players: Cody Malik, sr., (No. 5 singles runner-up and No. 2 doubles first place at state); Gib Moyle, jr., (Flight 3 singles and doubles state champion); J.J. Schultz, jr., (Flight 6 singles and Flight 3 doubles state champions); Billy Paluch, soph., (Flight 2 singles and Flight 1 doubles state champions); Jack Hamburg, 8th, (Flight 4 singles and Flight 2 doubles state champions).

Promising prospects: Tom Boyle, sr., Jimmy Doyle, jr., Geoff Muller, jr., Cody Eslinger, soph.

Letterwinners missing: Corey Paluch (playing tennis at SDSU), Aaron Holland (playing tennis at SDSU), Dan Martinez (New Mexico), Michael Phillips (BHSU), Loren Sewell (SD Mines), Johnny Feehan (Wyoming).

Conference favorite: 1, R.C. Stevens; 2, S.F. O'Gorman; 3, R.C. Central; 4, S.F. Roosevelt.

State favorite: "R.C. Stevens will be considered the heavy favorite, but S.F. O'Gorman, Aberdeen Roncalli, Watertown and R.C. Central should also be strong contenders," said Olson.

Editor's note: Sturgis and Spearfish did not submit preview information.

Pierre

Coach: Jeff Schlekeway, eight years, three with Pierre.

Last season's record: 4-14 overall and 0-7 in ESS

Season's outlook: "We should be much improved from last year's team. We have everyone back and will have much needed experience," said Schlekeway.

Returning letterwinners: Jerry Bullinger, sr., Flight 2 (third place) ESD; Alex Lauseng, jr., Flight 1 (fourth place) ESD; Will Clark, jr., Zak Bishop, sr., Stephan Bollinger, fr., Sean Dancey, sr., Connor Forney, 8th.

Promising prospects: Jordan Hull soph., Tyler Johnson soph., Matt Beckwith, jr., Casey Ortbahn, jr., Taylor Hyde, soph., Zac Hull, soph., Reece Chambers, jr., Ryan Lauseng, fr., Andrew Forest, fr., Charles Gageby, 8th, Tanner Johnson, 8th, Cody Bishop, 8th.

Letterwinners missing: None.

Conference favorite: Watertown and Brookings in ESD. "They both have a solid group of returning players from last year," said Schlekeway. "State favorites include Rapid City Stevens, Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Aberdeen Roncalli."

Watertown

Coach: Scott Ewald, second year.

Last season's record: 13-3 overall and 7-0 in ESD

Season's outlook: "We should be a top 10 team. We have four returning letterwinners with varsity experience with good JV players fighting for varsity spots," said Ewald.

Returning letterwinners: Marcus Schoepp, sr., Mike Towle, sr., Danny Towle, jr., A.J. DeLunge, sr.

Promising prospects: David Brondsrad, Andrew Towle, Josiah Resier. Letterwinners missing: Brett Schoenefeld, T.J. Beudaell, Kyle Christianson.

Conference favorites: Brookings in the ESD "They return top players," said Ewald. "R.C. Stevens and S.F. O'Gorman are favorites at state."

Huron

Coach: Mike Knigge second year.

Last years record: 12th at state.

Season's Outlook: "Huron will be in the middle of the pack at ESD and at state, but could surprise people and make the top 10 at state. About six-eight kids worked very hard during the off-season which could propel them into the top 10 if we stay injury free and get a little luck. Doubles was a weakness last year but should be stronger this year, and McCaskell (No. 1) could have a winning record if he plays smart tennis. Our weaknesses may be the middle of the line-up where kids had to move up 2-3 spots," Knigge said.

Returning letter winners: Tanner McCaskell, jr., (No. 2 singles consolation champion at state), Riley Hoistad, soph., Jordan Foster, sr., Robbie Nicholas, jr., Ricko Kryanaugh, sr., Alex Wheeler, 8th.

Letterwinners missing: Pascal Christen, Swiss foreign exchange student, Ben Mahowald.

Promising prospects: Chris McHenry, jr., Brien Osborn, 7th, Josh Scheel, soph., Michael Nicholas, 7th.

Conference Favorite: "It looks like it will be very competitive between three teams, Watertown, Pierre, and Brookings. Huron looks to battle for fourth," Knigge said.

State favorites - Contenders for top five are Stevens, Roncalli, Madison, O'Gorman, and maybe Watertown, Knigge said.

St. Thomas More

Coach: Seth Keene, fifth year.

Last season's record: 4-10, 11th at state.

Season's outlook: "We lost eight seniors to graduation and two other letterwinners from last year, so we will be rebuilding this year. Only one player on our current roster of 25 is a senior, so the future looks bright," said Keene.

Returning letterwinners: senior Taylor Nielsen; junior Ian Kopriva; and sophomore Cody Kopriva.

Promising prospects: "Several freshmen and middle-school players will compete for the remaining varsity spots," said Keene.

Letterwinners missing: Kyle Ashland, Yanik Graf, Luke Biggs, Michael Keegan, Lucas Ashland and Goeff Muller.

Conference favorite: "I don't think there is a clear favorite (to win state)," said Keene.