Boys tennis preview: Sailors set for another season

Amara Aguilar

In singles, at least, the Newport Harbor High boys tennis team will

be playing with a full Deck this season.

Sophomore Tyler Deck will anchor the squad at the No. 1 singles

position.

“He is much improved,” Newport Coach Jeff Thomsen said. “He’s looking

to do some damage this year in our league. He has been working hard and

playing a lot of tournaments. I’m really happy with his progress.”

Taking the No. 2 position will be freshman Dylan Espley-Jones,

followed by newcomer Zach Yeager at No. 3.

“Zach has been a pleasant surprise,” Thomsen said. “He’s a big kid who

is going to help us out quite a bit.”

At 6-foot-2, Yeager is one of the tallest players on the team, but he

will probably only be on the Sailors’ squad for one season. His family

lives in Pennsylvania but his father, a teacher, brought the family to

Southern California on sabbatical.

“Both Dylan and Zach have played in tournaments,” Thomsen said. “We

are definitely looking to the future. Next year, we have a bunch of

ranked kids coming in. This is a building process. We’re going to do all

right this year.”

Leading the way at the No. 1 doubles spot will be junior Brandon

Lutfy. His partner has not been determined, Thomsen said, but it may turn

out to be junior Jason Lund.

“Brandon has got a very solid return,” Thomsen said. “He has good

hands up at the net. We’re still trying to figure out who his other half

will be.”

The Sailors did lose senior Warren Schaffer, who played doubles last

year.

“He was going to be an integral part of our team,” Thomsen said. “He

was going to help us with leadership and would be our only senior, but he

went to rowing. He’s going to Harvard next year.”

Despite the loss, Thomsen is hoping to improve on last year’s two-win

season.

“We have a good attitude,” Thomsen said. “It’s going to be a trying

time, but we are going to get through it. We have a young team. We’re

practicing hard and looking toward the future. It’s a process. They’re

handling it pretty well so far.”

Newport Harbor boys tennis roster

Derek Davis

Tyler Deck

Bob D’Eliscu

Phil Guston

Tommy Holbrook

Dylan Espley-Jones

Jason Lund

Brandon Lutfy

Matt Stokke

Angel Tamarac

Jonathon Tweena

Adam Uhl

Zach Yeager

Coach: Jeff Thomsen