Wayne, Holmes County boys tennis teams have different goals in 2026

Area boys tennis teams head into the 2026 season at very different stages, with some programs retooling with youth and others bringing back experienced lineups capable of contending for league titles.

Across the board, teams will look to balance development and competitiveness as they navigate new faces, shifting lineups and the challenges of early-season match play.

Below are season previews for area teams:

Hiland

Hiland will enter the season looking to replace its top two singles players while relying on returning depth in doubles.

Coach Carrie Jones said replacing Jackson Mullet and Logan Hershberger will be the team’s biggest early challenge.

"They were two very dependable, athletic spots for us that we counted on for wins,” Jones said. “It will be a race at the beginning of the season to fill those two holes.”

Returning letter-winners include senior Max Jones (doubles) and juniors Joel Leinbach (singles), Noah Troyer (doubles), Clay Lehman (doubles) and Quinn Mullet (doubles). Newcomers expected to compete for lineup spots include seniors Vlad Horkovchuk (singles) and Chase Coblentz (singles), junior Julius Hadtstein (singles), and sophomore Ryan Baird (doubles).

Jones said the team’s doubles play and athleticism should be strengths.

“We have some younger players that showed a lot of promise in the tournaments at the end of the season, especially with our doubles squads,” Jones said. “We anticipate them having some lively battles early on. This team is very laid-back. Many of them are two-sport athletes and are naturally quick. This always seems to be an advantage for us. They get along really well and work hard to help the team win by giving their best in their matches.”

Hiland went 10-3 overall last season and finished fourth in the NET league with a 6-3 record.

“We will be competitive,” Jones said. “We understand that we have holes to fill, but the kids seem eager for the season and ready to get out on the courts and have a good showing. This is a very tough league with some bigger schools usually pulling in some good players. We will compete but always know that it’s anybody’s game.”

Triway

Triway will field a full roster this season as the Titans work to build experience with a young lineup.

First-year coach Cole Duskey said several players are new to the sport, but the team hopes to show improvement this spring.

Returning players include juniors Wilson James and Sophia James while newcomers include juniors Reilly Grosjean, Lillian Ritchie and Jared Miller and sophomores Jayden White and Bryce Meade.

Duskey said development will be the key focus.

“Our strength this year will be growth,” Duskey said. “We are going to start on a clean slate and work on the fundamentals and make sure we have those down.”

Inexperience could be the biggest challenge early in the season.

“Our weakness will be our experience,” Duskey said. “We are coming in with at least four new players. It is going to take some time getting them up to speed.”

Triway did not win a team match last season and finished last in league play.

“I do not have a prediction for the league as I have not been around the league in a long while,” Duskey said.

West Holmes

West Holmes enters the 2026 season in building mode, with first-year coach Marc Yabroff leading an extremely young team after last year’s 5-11 finish.

The Knights return seniors Jonny Shedron and Jevin Zeng, giving the team a pair of veterans to build around as the program works to gain experience and grow.

“We are an extremely young team, trying to grow our program,” Yabroff said.

West Holmes is still searching for consistency and depth, but Yabroff said the focus will be on playing fundamentally sound tennis.

That growth may take time early in the season as the Knights work through inexperience and adjust to varsity match play.

“We lack experience and court time,” Yabroff said.

Yabroff said one of the team’s biggest challenges has simply been fielding a full roster.

“We are building our program and struggled to get a full team,” he said, “lots of first-time players.”

Wooster

Wooster returns a deep and experienced lineup as the Generals aim to challenge for the conference title.

Sixth-year coach Justin Crooks said the team brings back most of last year’s roster along with a promising newcomer.

“We had a strong team last season and came up just short of winning our conference,” Crooks said. “We lost one senior that played second doubles and are getting a freshman that will be very strong for us. We are returning three district qualifiers, and our depth will be even better than last year.”

Leading the returning group are senior Henry Pozefsky (first singles), sophomore Andrew James (second singles), junior Nick Kakanuru (third singles), senior Saxon Ranney (first doubles), junior Tony Rammel (first doubles) and senior Nathan Spruell (second doubles). Freshman Jake Jung also joins the roster.

Crooks said the team’s depth should be a major advantage.

“Our strengths will be how deep we are this year,” Crooks said. “We have strong singles and very balanced doubles teams. Our experience will help us be very successful.”

The main task early in the season will be sorting out the lineup.

“The only weakness we will have is finding the right spots for the talent we have,” Crooks said.

Wooster went 12-2 overall last season and finished second in the Ohio Cardinal Conference with a 6-1 record.

“We will compete to win our conference,” Crooks said. “Lexington has won it the last seven years, so we are focused on ending that streak.”