2009 All-Area Boys Tennis Team

BOYS TENNIS

Coach of the year

Tim Matthews

SCHOOL: E.C. Glass

YEAR: First

RECORD: 13-4

ALL-STAR STUFF: Matthews, the Western Valley District and Northwest Region coach of the year, helped the Hilltoppers over-come the adversity of losing senior Nelson James in a fall car crash, guiding them back to the Group AAA state tournament, before losing in the quarterfinals to Princess Anne, 5-4. “It was definitely a tough season for us, though adversity sometimes brings out the best in you,” Matthews said. “I tried to get the guys to pick up one another and let it be a uniting thing … to break down cliques and … work as a team. We were able to come together and play with a spirit and have a sense of purpose.” He credits his talented team for the successful season.  “I had a lot of guys on the team who loved playing tennis,” Matthews said. “They play every day. As a coach, that’s all you can ask for, having players who love the game.” After assisting Ed Dawson last season, the 2005 graduate of Liberty University will step down as coach next year to work on his master’s degree. “I’m very appreciative to be involved in tennis at E.C. glass because they have such a legacy here,” said Matthews, who played at Douglas Freeman High in Richmond. He hands the Hilltoppers, full of promising underclassmen, over to his assistant Wistar Nelligan II. “He was the brains of the whole operation,” Matthews said. “Wistar was very involved in helping out with practices and putting together drills to help with certain skills. He was great at understanding players’ weaknesses and giving them advice.”

Player of the year

George Gianakos

SCHOOL: E.C. Glass

YEAR: Senior

SEED: No. 1 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Gianakos made a remarkable comeback from a car crash that killed teammate Nelson James and left him with a broken ankle and wrist this past fall, working his way back up to No. 1, where he started all four years at Glass. He finished 12-6 overall, winning the Western Valley District tournament title and finishing runner-up in the Northwest Region to Stonewall Jackson’s Jimmy Davis. Gianakos lost to eventual state champion Justin Shane of JEB Stuart in the Group AAA individual singles quarterfinals and he and No. 1 doubles partner Derek Gale lost to Deep Run’s tandem of Hunter Koontz and Evan Charles in the Group AAA doubles quarterfinals in Fairfax after earning district and regional titles.

SINGLES

Derek Gale

SCHOOL: E.C. Glass

YEAR: Junior

SEED: No. 2 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Gale won the Hilltoppers’ coach’s award for being the team’s most improved player.  He played No. 3 singles at the start of the season, but moved up to No. 2 by midseason and finished 11-5. “He definitely proved himself as a leader off the court and showed on the court he deserved to be the No. 2 player,” coach Tim Matthews said. An excellent volleyer, Gale teamed with Gianakos at No. 1 doubles to finish his share of points. “Derek just had extraordinary ability at the net and if you’re playing with George, you hit it to anyone but George and Derek was able to put a lot of balls away,” Matthews said.

Zach Tyree

SCHOOL: Brookville

YEAR: Junior

SEED: No. 1 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Tyree helped the Bees defend their Seminole District team title and won district player of the year honors, going 18-1 in singles play and 17-1 at No. 1 doubles with fellow junior Elliott Clowdis. “Zach has great passing shots and is ex-tremely accurate and focused,” coach Karen Brown said. “He hits the corners of the court with no problem. Plus he’s left-handed and it kills everybody.” Tyree worked with Boonsboro Country Club pro Drew Robinson to develop a potent southpaw serve with a kick. “He has a beautiul topspin serve that is hard to handle,” Brown said. “And he’s very consistent.” Tyree and Clowdis lost to the eventual Group AA state champions from Harrisonburg in the Region III individual doubles quarterfinals. The Bees qualified as the No. 1 seed in the the Region III team tournament, but bowed to Rockbridge in a match that lasted three and a half hours.

Max Kaiser

SCHOOL: Virginia Episcopal School

YEAR: Sophomore

SEED: No. 1 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: A German exchange student, like his No. 1 doubles partner Jonas Walkembach, Kaiser carried the Bishops to the Virginia Independent Schools Division II championship match for the first time before losing for the third time this season to Virginia Independent Conference rival Covenant. He finished 9-5 at No. 1 singles, with three of those losses coming against Covenant and another in a competitive bout with Gianakos 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.  “He’s a great all-around player who could play all-pace or finesse,” coach Scott Winston said. “He was the typical European player (and) a very consistent server.”

Elliott Clowdis

SCHOOL: Brookville

YEAR: Junior

SEED: No. 2 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Clowdis, who finished 18-1 in singles play, could challenge Tyree for the Bees’ No. 1 singles spot next spring. “He and Zach go back and forth,” Brown said. “He has beaten Zach before. Both of them could beat everybody else in the dis-trict.” Together, they make an excellent doubles duo. “Elliott is extremely quick at the net and Zach has perfect ground strokes that set each other up,” Brown said. “Zach is more of a baselineer. Elliott is probably the most athletic player in the Seminole District.” A converted soccer player, Clowdis is one of the fastest boys at Brookville and does year-round cross training through Athletic Republic. “He can jump high and has lots of power (and) aggressive net play,” Brown said. “Elliott has got every shot in the book. He can hit everything and he’s all over the court. He’s extremely quick. He’s got lightening speed and very solid ground strokes.”

Jonas Walkembach

SCHOOL: VES

YEAR: Junior

SEED: No. 3 singles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Walkembach, like Kaiser, his No. 1 doubles partner, was more solid as a singles player, as he showed in beating Glass’ Patrick Brown 6-4, 4-6, (10-7) in an early-season 7-2 loss to the Hilltoppers. He finished 10-4 in singles action and 9-7 in doubles play. “Singles were more their strength,” Winston said of Walkembach and Kaiser. “They never meshed as well as I would have hoped as doubles players.” But their presence on the team helped catapult the Bishops to their first VIS state final appear-ance. “This was the first time in three years we’ve actually had German players back on the team and we finished 13-5,” Winston said. “It was an awesome season.”

DOUBLES

Patrick Brown/John James

SCHOOL: E.C. Glass

YEARS: Junior/Sophomore

SEED: No. 2 doubles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Brown and James were exceptional singles players in their own right, posting 11-5 and 12-5 records, respec-tively. “They were great No. 3 and No. 4 players for us,”  Matthews said. “They dominated when it came to the district and played well as a doubles team.” As a tandem, they went 8-4, 7-1 against district competition. They got along well on the court and pulled out some critical matches, including a dramatic 5-4 victory over Albemarle in the Northwest Region semifinals. “They have really good chemistry and they communicated well on the court,” Matthews said. “They’re both really good ground strokers and have strong serves and the ability to be aggressive on the court and to come up strong.” Matthews had to give Brown a dose of mus-tard to deal with his leg cramps in the pivotal regional semifinal doubles match. “Against Albemarle, it was on them to win the entire match for us,” Matthews said. ”They came through under the most pressure you could imagine and got the clutch victory for us. That’s something about Patrick Brown — he could play well under pressure. When it counted, they played extremely well for us.”

Marsh Baker/Ethan Bowen

SCHOOL: VES

YEARS: Senior/Senior

SEED: No. 2 doubles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Baker, who went 11-5 at No. 2 singles for the Bishops, was even stronger in doubles play, finishing 11-1 with Bowen, VES’s No. 4 singles player. “Marsh was all pace,” Winston said. “He played all-out all the time. Although he wanted it, he couldn’t play finesse. He had a great hard-court game (and) was a very strong server.“ Bowan complemented him perfectly with his net play. “Ethan is a very good volleyer,” Winston added. Together, they beat Glass’ Brown and James 10-6 and won both of their matches against Covenant, though Bowen was unavailable for the state final rematch.

Rob Sears/Brad Smith

SCHOOL: Appomattox

YEARS: Senior/Senior

SEED: No. 1 doubles

ALL-STAR STUFF: Sears, also an excellent golfer who plans to attend Longwood University, and Smith, a basketball post player whose 6-foot-5 height made him tough to lob over at the net, finished 7-2 in doubles action. “They had something special when they played together,” coach Doug Marshall said. “Rob definitely had the stronger serve and Brad liked to play on the baseline. They complemented each other very well.” Sears had to leave the team after being diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in the nodes in his neck. Smith moved up to No. 1 singles, where he won his first Region B match before losing to the eventual champion from George Mason, and played No. 1 doubles with Jason Gilliam, losing to George Mason in the Region B quarterfinals.