Helias tennis team wants to build off successful season

Seth Pezley of Helias lunges for the ball during a match last season at Washington Park.
Seth Pezley of Helias lunges for the ball during a match last season at Washington Park.

The Helias boys tennis team took a big step forward last season.

As a team, theCrusaders won their first district title since 2010, finishing with a 12-2 record while reaching the Class 1 sectional round. Helias also advanced a doubles pairing to the state tournament last spring.

With the Crusaders returning four of their six varsity players from last year, expectations for the team will be high as Helias opens the season today at Moberly.

"We've had a lot of energy, a lot of positive attitudes," Helias coach Margaret Shimkus said. "They're ready to play and learn each day. They've been working pretty hard."

Seniors Dalton Buschjost and Tristan Grawe return as the Crusaders top two singles players. They are also paired again in doubles after winning a district title last year and finishing in the top 16 in the Class 1 doubles tournament.

"Dalton and Tristan just had a lot of fun playing together," Shimkus said. " It has given them the confidence going into this season to know that maybe we can be around again at the end, depending on what that is. Right now, those two are looking really solid, strong and consistent."

Senior Seth Pezley and sophomore Jacob Cowley were paired in doubles last season, while sophomore Jacob Schepers and senior Cory Strope will round out the top six to start the 2018 season on varsity.

One option would be to keep Pezley and Cowley together and make Schepers and Strope the third doubles team. However, Shimkus said another option could be to pair the seniors (Pezley and Strope) and the sophomores (Cowley and Schepers).

"I like to build for the future," Shimkus said. "You put whatever chemistry works in from year to year, and that can change. You may have someone else that can come in there."

Nothing is set in stone just yet, and pairings could change as the season progresses.

"There's just so much camaraderie, they're just so easy going," Shimkus said. "I could just about mix them up any which way and they would be fine with that."

As for singles play, Buschjost will lead off at No. 1, followed by Grawe, Pezley, Cowley, Schepers and then Strope at No. 6.

"Dalton and Tristan, they were Nos. 5 and 6 as freshmen, so this is their fourth year being on varsity," Shimkus said. "Jacob Cowley was a freshman at No. 6 last year, and he's developing and continuing to improve consistently.

"Cory has looked really good in his challenge matches, as well as Seth. Jacob Schepers has come up and done a lot of work."

Other players to start out at the top of the JV list, but could work their way up to varsity, include junior John Loehr and freshman Justin Francka, along with seniors Shane Kliethermes, Ben Husting, Justin Frese and Connor Roy.

"I have a lot of solid seniors," Shimkus said of the Crusaders, who have 11 seniors on a roster of 24 players. "Any one day, any one of them could beat the other one."

In addition to the boys team getting a chance to host its first match Friday on the new tennis courts at Crusader Athletic Complex against School of the Osage, the Crusaders will host three tournaments this spring: the Helias Invitational on April 17, the Archdiocesan Athletic Association championships on April 21 and the Class 1 District 8 individual tournament May 12.

"It's great for the kids to have a place they call home," Shimkus said. "They have their own little locker room over there, they have everything right there at their fingertips.

"I'm feeling like we're in a routine on our own home place."