\u2022 Favorite \u2013 Kentridge.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contenders \u2013 Jefferson, Kentwood.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sleepers \u2013 Auburn, Auburn Riverside.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Last year\u2019s standings \u2013 Kentridge 12-0, Jefferson 10-3, Kentwood 10-4, Federal Way 7-4, Tahoma 5-9, Kentlake 4-9, Decatur 3-10, Kent-Meridian 0-12. (NOTE: Because of rainouts that were not made up, not every team completed its 14-match schedule.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Outlook \u2013 Kentridge returns three of the five players who went to state last spring: Matt Overland in singles (third place), and the doubles team of Paul Yi and Vineeth Omkaram (did not place). Overland is regarded as the second-best player in the division behind two-time defending state champion Max Manthou of Kentwood, and is one of those who can actually slug it out with him groundstroke for groundstroke, though Manthou ultimately shows why he\u2019s a cut above the rest. Add to that players such as Garrett Ballou and Donald Hall, (both juniors), senior Christian Ohno and sophomore Howard Lin, all varsity veterans, and it\u2019s understandable why KR has the favorite\u2019s role. But Jefferson also returns most of its roster, including district qualifiers Joe Lee and Branden Muraki, both juniors, and sophomore Makoa Rosa, who was the only freshman boy from the SPSL to make the district draw. He will be joined this year by his freshman brother, Kainoa. Kentwood is always in the mix, and the Conquerors typically can count on a point from Manthou before they even take the court. Auburn Riverside, which won the SPSL North title in 2005 before leaving for a two-year stint in Class 3A, graduated most of the familiar names that teamed up for an SPSL 3A title in 2006 and a runner-up finish in 2007. But the Ravens have a strong JV program, and many of the top players there are ready to slide into varsity positions and keep AR competitive.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
FIVE TO WATCH<\/p>\n
Grade\/name School<\/p>\n
Jr. Max Manthou Kentwood<\/p>\n
Notable: He\u2019s the two-time defending state singles champion. Any questions?<\/p>\n
Jr. Matt Overland Kentridge<\/p>\n
Notable: Hard, accurate hitter who has emerged as the North\u2019s best player \u2013 after Max.<\/p>\n
Jr. Joe Lee \t Jefferson<\/p>\n
Notable: Went 4-1 in singles, and teamed with Brendan Muraki to earn a district bid in doubles.<\/p>\n
Jr. Garrett Ballou Kentridge<\/p>\n
Notable: Played primarily in the No. 2 singles spot, but went 7-0, then took fourth in the league tournament to make district.<\/p>\n
Sr. Jake Stewart Federal Way<\/p>\n
Notable: Solid and steady, 7-3 during the regular season at the No. 1 spot, qualified for district.<\/p>\n
CAN\u2019T-MISS MATCHES<\/p>\n
Sept. 10: Kentridge at Jefferson. OK, so who\u2019s really the favorite? This one could go a long way toward providing the answer. (Rematch Oct. 1 at Kentridge.) Sept. 12: Jefferson at Auburn Riverside. Are the Ravens a spoiler \u2013 or a bona fide contender? (Rematch Oct. 3 at Jefferson.) Sept. 19: Auburn at Auburn Riverside. Both of these teams are potential sleepers in the division title chase. (Rematch Oct. 10 at Auburn.) Sept. 22: Kentridge at Kentwood. Fierce, but respectful rivalry. Always an impact match, too. (Rematch Oct. 13 at Kentridge.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Favorite \u2013 Kentridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-9950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9950\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9950"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=9950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}