GREENE COUNTY
The Lake Oconee Academy tennis teams recently struck gold again with a huge accomplishment.
A few weeks ago, the boys program came away with its third straight region title after dominating the competition all season long. The girls program followed in their footsteps after winning its second straight region championship.
With the addition of Aquinas High School to the region, both teams were met with some resiliency during the two matches against the Fighting Irish. Essentially for first place in the region, the Titans came out on top 3-2 both times these teams met.
Titans’ head coach Tom Imhof has helped lead groups to state championships, and he believes both programs touting the blue and gold have a good chance to get back there again.
“For the boys, we returned six of the seven guys from last year’s state championship team, so we’ve expected big things. We’ve also had a couple of younger guys, freshmen, play exceptionally well this season as a doubles team together,” Imhof said. “For the girls, we’ve gotten stronger from top to bottom. We graduated a couple of girls last year, but the ones who replaced them are basketball standouts, and they’ve gone undefeated so far.”
The Titans are led by two seniors who have been with the program all four years of high school. Cooper Ciavola and Maddox Cantrell are Lake Oconee Academy’s No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, and their experience has rubbed off on others.
Not only did the two play a big role in winning last year’s state championship, but Ciavola and Cantrell were also named to Class A Division II’s First All-State Team that same year.
Both doubles teams have also played a major role in the Titans’ success this season. Adam Kalmanowicz and Justin Zahler make up the first pairing, and freshmen Wyatt Imhof and Christian Moore make up the second duo.
Imhof attributed the team’s regular season success to the play of his two doubles groups and believes their performances will be instrumental in making another state championship run.
“This year’s doubles teams could both be number one. They challenge each other at practice every week and go back and forth and beat each other,” Imhof said. “We can put any combination of the four guys out there and expect great results. We’re counting on them to pull us through the tough teams, even though I expect Cooper and Maddox to do their thing.”
On top of that, the girls program has made tremendous strides in just its fourth season at the varsity level.
Senior Love Kalpak has played as the Lady Titans' No. 1 singles player all year alongside No. 2 singles player Willa Kent. Anika Imhof has also stepped up for the team in a big way after moving from a doubles player last year to a singles player this year. She has yet to lose a match this season, and hopes to carry that momentum into the playoffs.
On top of that, both doubles teams have produced great results for the Lady Titans. The No. 1 doubles pairing of basketball standouts Hannah Heinen and Georgia Bosart have come up big over the course of the regular season.
Heinen’s twin sister, Hailey, is also on the girls tennis team as a doubles player for the other duo. She plays alongside sophomore Riley Payne and is one of the Lady Titans’ team captains.
Imhof acknowledged that the girls learned a lot from last year’s Elite 8 run and that they seem determined to make it even further this go-around.
“I think the depth we have in our doubles will really continue to help us on the girls team as well. Georgia and Hannah both started playing together this year, and it’s been a pleasant surprise seeing what they’ve been able to do on the court,” Imhof said. “Just in general, this year’s girls group is more balanced from top to bottom, and I think they can be successful.”
Since both teams finished first in the region, they will have favorable matchups to start postseason play. They will both host the fourth seed of Region next Wednesday for the first round, with the potential to host all the way up until the finals in a couple of weeks.