The Normal West boys tennis team is having one of its best seasons under head coach Drew Emerick, who is now in his fifth year leading the program.
The Wildcats are off to an 12-4 record.
He gave the early success credit to the group of returning players.
“I think the biggest key to our success was just being able to have a good core group of kids that got some varsity experience last year. So, Dane Schlipmann, Tyler, Cunningham, Owen Holder, and Grant Marvel had some varsity experience last year,” Emerick said.
When Emerick took over this program, the team struggled with players, often carrying only 10-12 players total.
“So when I first took over the program five years ago, there were historically lower numbers, somewhere between 10 and 12 kids on the tennis team,” Emerick noted.
Today, the roster has grown to 28 players, which is the largest in school history.
Several players have stepped up in different ways this season.
Specifically, senior Grant Marvel began the season at six singles before earning a spot in the varsity double lineup.
“One kid that really sticks out in my mind is Grant Marvel at six singles,” Coach Emerick said.
“He’s been doing a fantastic job, giving us a lot of production at the end of the at the bottom of our lineup at six singles, so much so that he’s playing so well, I’ve had to move him into the varsity doubles lineup,” Emerick said.
Marvel is undefeated in singles and has an overall 24-3 varsity record, and he is 12-0 in singles and 12-3 in doubles.
Freshman Ben Angelov-Ritter has also made an immediate impact with a 19-9 record, including a clutch tiebreak win against Bloomington.
“Ben had a huge win last night against Bloomington in a tiebreaker,” Coach Emerick said.
Dane Schlipmann also continues to take on the toughest opponents each match.
“I also want to give some credit to Dane, who’s our number one singles player. He’s got a few good wins, a couple tough losses, but it’s a lonely position to have to play the best player on each team every night, and he is seemingly handling that pretty well so far this year,” Emerick said.
Team captains, Schlipmann and Holder have played key roles in maintaining focus.
“I think Owen has really done a nice job of encouraging his teammates and just making sure everyone’s on task and selecting the uniforms for the games, and making decisions for the team,” Emerick said.
Despite the strong record, the Wildcats are still learning how to handle pressure.
Several close tiebreakers have slipped away, including a difficult loss to Bloomington that left the team frustrated.
“We had some kids that were emotionally charged, which, again, I think is a good thing, because they care,” Emerick noted.
However, he hopes the team can use the loss as motivation.
“When you lose, it’s never a loss. It’s always a way to learn something for the next time that we play,” Coach Emerick said.
Normal West will now prepare for a busy stretch, including a tough matchup against Peoria Notre Dame and a their senior night celebration on Monday, May 11. Senior night will begin at 4 p.m. and is against Washington High School.
The Big 12 Conference tournament is set for May 15-16, with sectionals and that state series soon after.
