PRESEASON TOP 10
1. Western Branch: The defending Eastern Region champion Bruins return virtually intact and appear poised to repeat.
2. Cox: With Ian Fraser back and better than ever, the Falcons won’t miss the postseason again.
3. Cape Henry Collegiate: Rising star Tanner Baine leads the Dolphins’ young but talented brigade.
4. Norfolk Academy: The Bulldogs have one elite performer – Jackson Breit – and, as usual, enough solid players to stock two teams.
5. First Colonial: The Patriots went from also-rans to Eastern Region participants a year ago, and much of that talent returns.
6. Ocean Lakes: Last year’s overshadowed supporting cast sets out to prove there was more to the 2007 Beach District champions than big Ben Wirth.
7. Hickory: The best bet to lead the Southeastern District’s pack of pursuers to Western Branch.
8. Kellam: Just a hunch, but the Knights typically end up looking better on the court than on paper.
9. Great Bridge: Losing some players to first-year school Grassfield hurts, but the Wildcats seem to always scare up enough kids who know how to play.
10. Norfolk Collegiate: The Oaks lost a ton of talent, but the new crop isn’t bad, either.
TOP PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ian Fraser, Cox: A year ago, academic issues made this 2006 Eastern Region singles semifinalist the best player who never hit a ball in high school competition last season. Now, with his grades in order, he’s simply the best player.
Tanner Baine, Cape Henry Collegiate: The precocious Baine went 4-2 at No. 1 singles in regular-season TCIS play last year – as a seventh-grader. Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. Some people have a tennis court at their house. Baine has a tennis court in his house.
Bobby Kostinas/Sam Karr/Josh Lee, Western Branch: Kostinas reigned as the best Bruin a year ago, but any one of this talented trio has the goods to be No. 1 this year – at Western Branch or any other public school in Hampton Roads.
Brian Luke, First Colonial: Luke surprised many by making a dramatic leap into the upper echelon of players a year ago. He won’t sneak up on anyone this year, but with his game, he won’t have to.
Jackson Breit, Norfolk Academy: A tender shoulder might take some of the stick out of Breit’s serve in the early going. But once healthy, he should assume his role as the favorite for the TCIS’ No. 1 singles title.
PICKING THE LEAGUES
Beach District
1. Cox; 2. First Colonial; 3. Ocean Lakes; 4. Kellam; 5. Kempsville; 6. Princess Anne; 7. Tallwood; 8. Landstown; 9. Green Run; 10. Salem; 11. Bayside.
Eastern District
1. Norview; 2. Maury; 3. Churchland; 4. Granby; 5. Lake Taylor; 6. Norcom; 7. Wilson; 8. Booker T. Washington.
Southeastern District
1. Western Branch; 2. Hickory; 3. Great Bridge; 4. Grassfield; 5. Indian River; 6. Deep Creek; 7. Oscar Smith; 8. King’s Fork; 9. Nansemond River; 10. Lakeland.
Tidewater Conference
1. Cape Henry Collegiate; 2. Norfolk Academy; 3. Hampton Roads Academy; 4. Norfolk Collegiate; 5. Walsingham; 6. Norfolk Christian; 7. Bishop Sullivan Catholic; 8. Nansemond-Suffolk Academy; 9. Peninsula Catholic.
2007 CHAMPIONS
Beach District: Singles – Ben Wirth, Ocean Lakes. Doubles – Wirth-Ryan Suit, Ocean Lakes. Team – Ocean Lakes.
Eastern District: Singles – Stas Stekolstsikov , Granby. Doubles – Stek olstsikov-John Ehlers, Granby. Team – Maury.
Southeastern District: Singles – Bryce Parrish, Great Bridge. Doubles – Parrish-Owen Alberti, Great Bridge. Team – Western Branch.
Tidewater Conference: No. 1 singles – Bart Grover, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. Doubles – Whit Booth-Jackson Breit, Norfolk Academy. Team – Norfolk Academy.
Eastern Region: Singles – Ben Wirth, Ocean Lakes. Doubles – Wirth-Ryan Suit, Ocean Lakes. Team – Western Branch.
State Group AAA: Singles – Drew Courtney, Robinson. Doubles – Courtney-Stephen Hardy, Robinson. Team – Robinson.
NET CORDS
-- Maury traditionally rules the Eastern District, but the loss of four four-year starters opens the door for a rare non-Commodores champion. Norview – which features arguably the league’s best returning player in Justin Smith – Granby and Churchland all have title hopes. Then again, the Commodores still have enough talent to go ahead and win the district again.
-- Don’t look for Cape Henry Collegiate’s best early in the season: Top-six players Kevin Hamele (groin injury), Seth White (wrist) and Robert Ashford (shoulder) are in various stages of recovery. The good news is Cape Henry won’t play fellow TCIS power Norfolk Academy until May 1. In addition, should the Dolphins advance to the private school state tournament again, they’ll have No. 1 Tanner Baine this year. Last season, they had to leave Baine behind because participants must be in at least the eighth grade.
-- Western Branch returns its top five players from last season’s 15-1 Eastern Region championship team, with Chris Yost and Matt Puzin holding down the Nos. 4 and 5 slots and plenty of competition for No. 6. The Bruins’ road to the Southeastern District title was made even easier by the opening of Grassfield, which siphoned players from would-be contenders Hickory and Great Bridge.
-- Cox saw its run of three straight Eastern Region titles end in 2007, but Ian Fraser will join returning district runner-up Cameron Brawley to form arguably the area’s most potent 1-2 singles combination. First Colonial will counter with Brian Luke leading another deep Patriots edition. Although Ocean Lakes lost three-time region singles champ Ben Wirth to William and Mary, everyone else is back, and all five of the returnees have at least two years of varsity experience.
--With all due respect to the Southeastern District’s singles players, the most competitive tournament in the league probably would involve its coaches. That bracket would include: King’s Fork’s Sean White, a former Cox star and South Hampton Roads’ last Group AAA state singles champion, in 1989 and again in 1990 ; Hickory’s Chris Newman, an ex-Hawk who was Eastern Region singles champion in 1999 and 2000; Great Bridge’s Martin Black, who took the title from Newman in 2001 and won it again in 2002 while starring for the Wildcats; Grassfield’s Matt Graham, half of 1999’s Group AAA state runner-up doubles team ; and Indian River’s Chavez Mabry, a former district singles champion at the old John F. Kennedy High in Suffolk who also played at Virginia Union.
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