BOYS TENNIS: Charging to the top?

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The Kentridge High boys tennis team has been there and done that.

Done it repeatedly, too. In fact, the Chargers entered the new season earlier this month having won the last two South Puget Sound League North Division championships outright, and tied for the crown with Kentwood in 2006.

Now, after bringing home consecutive second-place team finishes from state, the Chargers want to go all the way.

And they have the pieces in place to do it. It’s just a matter of putting them all together on the court — mentally and physically.

“I think our chances are very high because we barely lost last year,” said senior Matt Overland, who took second at state last spring in No. 1 singles. “Talent-wise, I think we’re the best. Mentally, if we can put it together, I think we’re going to win it.”

There hasn’t been a tougher team physically or mentally for many years in the SPSL North. Matter of fact, the Chargers’ run of excellence on the court goes at least a decade long.

Asked to explain his program’s court mastery, longtime coach Bob Armstrong delivered an answer in workmanlike, typical Kentridge fashion.

“I get some really good players coming out of the Boeing Employee Tennis Club and we’ve had some really good talent,” said Armstrong, now in his 10th season at the helm of the program. “We’ve been able to get the right players playing together. We also work really hard on team unity. I think all of those contribute.”

And then some.

Since 2000, Kentridge hasn’t finished any lower than third in the SPSL North standings. In addition, the Chargers have shared or won outright four of the last five league titles and entered this season having won 66 of their last 69 North Division matches since the beginning of 2004. Furthermore, Kentridge has not lost a league dual since splitting the season series with Kentwood in 2006 and are riding back-to-back perfect records — 16-0 and 12-0. The end result of those two spotless league seasons has been consecutive second-place team finishes at the state tournament.

Kentridge, which entered play on Thursday with its usual unbeaten record (5-0), now wants more. The Chargers want that state team title, something no Kentridge team has ever accomplished on the boys tennis court.

And they have a legitimate shot.

“This team is about as talented as any team I have ever had,” Armstrong said. “(Winning a state title) certainly is a possibility because we really should have won it last year. And we’ve got all three of those guys back.”

Those guys include Overland (No. 1 singles), Paul Yi (No. 1 doubles) and Vineeth Omkaram (No. 1 doubles).

But this season, Armstrong is throwing a bit of a wrinkle into the game plan as Yi and Omkaram, who won a district title last spring and came away with one victory at state, will be splitting up. Yi will take over Kentridge’s No. 2 singles slot while Omkaram will be playing No. 1 doubles with senior Garrett Ballou. The new look has, as expected, brought the usual results for the Chargers, who’ve swept through four of their first five North Division opponents thus far this season by 5-0 scores. The only team to dent Kentridge’s tough exterior was Kentwood, which still fell to the Chargers, 3-2.

As for their state title possibilities, the Chargers will have to wait until next May 28-29, when the tournament will be played at Kamiakin High and the Tri-City Court Club in Kennewick.

With seven returning seniors – Overland, Yi, Omkaram, Ballou, Donald Hall, Sahil Diwan and Vishaal Diwan – back on board, the time for thinking big is indeed now for the talented Chargers. With three state qualifiers last year (Overland, Yi and Omkaram), Kentridge finished just two points behind eventual champion Richland, 13-11.

In 2008, with five qualifiers (Overland, Yi, Omkaram, Zach AhYat and Luyang Gai), Kentridge finished just behind Bellarmine Prep, 16-13.

If all breaks right in the spring, Overland is expected to make another run at Kentwood star and three-time state champion Max Manthou for the singles title while Armstrong firmly believes Yi can advance to state in singles, as well. Meanwhile, Omkaram hasn’t missed a beat with Ballou as his partner, giving the Chargers the possibility of having even more depth than ever at the state level.

Kentridge put that talent and depth on display last weekend during the Auburn Riverside Invitational, a tournament that included a handful of the top teams west of the mountains. Kentridge won the tournament with 22 points, followed by Thomas Jefferson (13) perennial power Bellarmine Prep (12) and Auburn Riverside (8).

Even with this much talent, however, Armstrong realizes he still has to push the right buttons.

“Against my better judgment, we talked about the state title,” the coach said. “I was kind of giving it to them when they were slacking off during laps before practice. I said, ‘Well, do you want to win the state tournament? You got to work for it.”

Both physically and mentally.