Cardinals aim to hold onto state title

The Medical Lake Cardinals boys tennis team knew how it felt to be John Elway.

Like the Denver Broncos quarterback who lost his first three Super Bowls, the Cardinals had finished second in three straight times in the State 2A Tennis Tournament.

And, like the Hall of Famer, they finally broke through on their fourth attempt last spring to take the state crown.

“I think you go through shock,” said Cardinals head coach Leroy Lemaster. “We’d been so close, and we lost by one and three points three years in a row. So when we got it, it was just like ‘Holy mackerel, we finally did it,’ ” Lemaster said.

“I was really happy to just do it for our coach because he’s put so much into our program and to just give something back to him and show him that his hard work has paid off,” said the Cardinals’ No. 1 singles player, Zac Nelson. “It was cool to send the seniors off with a state win, too. It was a really good feeling.”

Nelson returns for his senior season in hopes of leading the Cardinals, much like Elway did in his final season, to a repeat performance at the top of the 2A ranks. Nelson, who lost in the No. 1 singles finals last spring, feels he’s taking the steps to win the singles title in May.

“I won the first set, so I think it was mostly endurance that I kind of had to focus on in third-set matches,” said Nelson, who is unbeaten in Great Northern League play in his career. “Then also my serve.

“It kind of fell apart near the end, so I came out of the season last year really working on that. Then I went to the club a lot in the off-season, at the Spokane Racquet Club.

“I played a lot over the winter and hit with a lot with the pros there.”

“I think the biggest thing is he loves the game, and he’s a very smart individual,” Lemaster said. “He figures out what needs to happen on the court.

“A lot of kids will just go out and hit balls, but he’s always figuring the angle, the strategy of the game and works on that. If he feels he’s not doing so well on a certain stroke, then he’ll work on that individual stroke until he’s got it the way he wants it.”

His younger brother Max will join Nelson this season and will play No. 3 singles.

“It’s very cool,” Nelson said. “We warm up together and he’s a good hitting partner. I see a lot of things that I do in him, so it’s kind of cool to see I’ve passed it on to him almost.

“After matches, we’ll talk about the match. During the match, we’ll be usually playing next to each other, and I don’t give him advice, but encouragement almost. He’s the kind of person you want to see succeed.”

The Cardinals, who are an impressive 97-4 over Lemaster’s 13-year reign in Medical Lake, will once again be favored to win the GNL.

Cameron Neuss moves up from No. 3 to No. 2 singles, while senior Phillipe Austria is at No. 4 singles. Four-year senior Tanner Tareski is joined at No. 1 doubles by sophomore Dallon Bogart, while junior Noi Moroni and senior Cliff Cooke are the No. 2 doubles pair.

Jeremy Marinos and Cody Link will be at No. 3 doubles.

“We lost a lot of seniors last year, so it’s a lot of new blood in there,” Nelson said. “It’s just getting the guys used to regular strategy.”

“We’re not as strong in doubles,”Lemaster said. “We’ve still got our No. 1 singles player, but if you don’t have strong doubles at state, you’re not going to get any points to help out that singles player.

“We’re working really hard to get our doubles teams to play the best they can possibly play.”

Medical Lake, like many dynasties, has a tendency to reload every year, though, and this season looks to be no different. The Cardinals’ success is really a team effort.

“I’ve got really good help,” Lemaster said. “We’ve only got four courts, but they’re right beside each other.

“I have my JV coach (Justin Blayne) on one, our girls coach (Dawn Eliassen) on the other. I help her on her hour, and she helps me on ours, and she’s a very good coach.

“I’ve also got a volunteer, Alex Plummer, who has great knowledge about the sport. I’ll use him for individual (teaching).”

“We never pressure the kids,” Lemaster continued. “We tell them that if they can’t have fun playing this sport, then they’re in the wrong sport.

“We get great support from the town and school. We go play hard and play the game right.”