Following a season where Clarkston finished second in Oakland Activities Association division II boys tennis, the Wolves will undergo their biggest re-structuring since coach Chaz Claus took the helm in 2004.
‘I graduated some real good players and it’s a very strong senior class that will be departing,? Claus said.
‘Even though this year I lost a lot of seniors (in 2006), I retained a lot of my upper-level singles players. It was rebuilding the middle of the lineup, not the top.
‘We’ll really be rebuilding all the way to the top.?
Departing from the team are No.’s 1, 2, and 3 singles players, including Chris Graczyk, No.’s 2 doubles, and half of the third doubles rank. Will-be fourth-year senior player Erik Ejups is expected to be the front-runner for the top seed on the singles side after playing No. 4 this season. An open tryout is expected starting in the fall, when the sport picks back up.
‘He had a great year at number four, but that’s a tough step to make. Beyond that, I’m not sure exactly what my lineup will look like, whether I keep my doubles players at (that) or if I move everybody up in order. We’ll see about that in the fall,? Claus said.
Ejups? confidence and increased physical size over the past three years, along with his ability to shape a match by playing to his strengths, bode well for him, Claus said.
Having Ejups at the top would be a good tone-setter for the Wolves, Claus said.
‘If they’re working hard (at No. 1), it rubs off. He’ll be an excellent leader for us at number one singles.?
No. 1 doubles this past season, soon-to-be seniors Matt Graczyk and Scott Dutcher have expressed interest in moving over to singles play.
‘It’s a year where I won’t have a good sense of my lineup until well through tryouts,? Claus said.
‘We’ll have to try different combinations and see what works.?
The boys return to the courts in less than three months due to re-scheduling by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which shuffled several high school sports in response to legal action finalized in April after about 10 years of litigation.
The change from spring to fall should be helpful for all teams because it gives them an eight-month season, continuing with their own work in the summer and resuming when school does the same.
‘My players will be used to playing outdoors all summer and instead of coming in as mid-winter couch potatoes, they’ll be coming in off the summer,? Claus said.