Thirteen Tiger tennis players, including eight seniors, received varsity letters for their efforts during the 2009 season.
The spring campaign was a tough one in the win-loss column for coach Jack Olwell’s team, which won just one of seven Missota Conference matches and finished 1-12 overall.
“It sounds hard to believe but this was one of the most enjoyable
seasons I have had,” Olwell said. “Of course, we would have liked to
have had a better record, but in many matches that just was not
possible. ... I felt like we gave a complete effort.”
The eight senior letter winners included Rob Bown, Andrew Froehling,
Marc Estes, Noeuth Orm, Nino Uchytil, Dylan West, Logan West and Adam
Wrucke. Underclassmen monogram winners were junior Mitch Bostrom;
sophomores Seth Roberts and Chaise Murphy and freshmen Ben Cline and
Blake Olmscheid.
Roberts, who played at No. 1 singles, earned Most Valuable Player
honors and he and Cline received all-league honorable mention.
Froehling served as team captain while Orm received the Most Improved
Player award. Uchytil won the Tiger Award for dedication and commitment.
Olwell also noted the improved play of underclassmen Peter Folz, Tyler
Olson and Clark Coffey, all of whom figure to play a big role on next
year’s team.
‘We worked hard and kept our chins up,” Olwell said. “We developed our
individual games a lot and improved our conference record from a year
ago.”
The veteran Tiger coach added that one of his team’s challenges was its
participation numbers. Only 16 came out this spring, the lowest total
in two decades.
“We will lose eight of our top 12 to graduation,” he said, “and we will
be particularly thin at doubles where we will lose the whole lineup.
... The good news is that we will have three starters back at singles,
so if they hit the courts this summer I think we can make some strides.”
Olwell said he couldn’t close the books on the 2009 season without a farewell to his senior class.
“It’s hard to see these fellows go,” he said. “They have been here a
long time and have set the stage for future generations of Tiger
players. Several of them didn’t pick up the sport until they were in
high school but they really caught on fast.”
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