SPASH, Pacelli boys bring young teams to tennis court By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette A young Stevens Point Area Senior High boys tennis team is hoping to finish in the middle of the Wisconsin Valley Conference and for a return trip to state for the doubles team of Anatoly Detwyler and Zach Newhouse. "Last year we had one of the most inexperienced teams I've coached," SPASH coach Terry Smith said. "If we can go .500 we'll be happy. We're looking at getting a doubles team down to state again. "Next year should be a big year for us because we have a lot of underclassmen and big hitters." Detwyler, a senior, and Newhouse, a junior, head the list of returnees for the Panthers. The duo finished 1-1 at state a year ago. Also back is senior Josh Nantell, junior Chris Stanford and sophomore Brandon Boehm. Senior Erik Borchardt; junior Ryan Wolf; sophomores Luke Berg and Chris Doede; and freshman Ryan Fagan are new to this year's team. Coach Smith will mix up his lineup throughout the season, switching between what he calls a strong singles lineup and a strong doubles lineup. "When we go with a tough singles lineup, (Anatoly and Zach) will play singles. When we have a strong doubles lineup, they'll play doubles," Smith said. "When we're trying to win a meet, we'll go with the strong singles." In the WVC, Smith sees Marshfield as the favorite while Wausau West and Wisconsin Rapids are also near the top of the conference. "I can't imagine anyone beating Marshfield. They have everybody back. They should win it." Pacelli The Cardinals, under new coach Mike Helmsing, are young but will be led by senior Adam Baser. Baser will hold the team's No. 1 singles slot while freshman Adam Kruzitski and Jeremy Lundquist will be at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. "Adam Baser is potentially a tremendous player and has quite a bit of potential," Helmsing said. "This is Adam's team and the team will respond as Adam does. When the team is performing, I believe he should receive a majority of the credit, it's only fair." In doubles, seniors Jim Czlapinski and Corey Ladick are at No. 1 while senior Josh Schloesser and junior George McCorkell will hold the No. 2 spot. The Cardinals do not have enough players to fill the No. 4 singles or No. 3 doubles slots. "As a team, our goal is to qualify for state at each position," Helmsing said. "Individually, we want to work with our games and develop other aspects of the game. We'll work with everybody to become a more well-rounded player. "We have a mature team. I think it will carry into their playing. As far as being tennis-savvy, we need a lot of seasoning." In the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference, Helmsing said he anticipates the Cardinals will be in the middle of the pack. "Columbus, from what I understand, is the team to beat," he said.