Daily Pilot Boys’ Tennis Dream Team: Max was mighty for Sailors
Max McKennon came into the Newport Harbor High boys’ tennis season as the top-ranked junior tennis player in the country in the boys’ 14s.
He left the Newport Harbor boys’ tennis season as a heralded freshman and trusted teammate who helped the Sailors make the CIF semifinals for the first time since 2003, when McKennon was a year old.
Both accomplishments were important to McKennon, the team player. The 6 feet 3 lefty showed a mature attitude after he missed the start of the season with a left wrist injury, always vocally cheering for his teammates.
“It’s really easy to kind of get down and retreat a little bit, get a little isolated during those times because you’re so upset,” Newport Harbor coach Kristen Case said. “He handled it impeccably. He kept his head up, he was patient, and he found a role to serve for our team … I think that built a lot of trust between him and his teammates. They knew that they could depend on him.”
That maturity was noticed. On a Sailors squad with three senior captains in David Lee, Sam Leaman and David Sharp, McKennon seemed to fit in just fine at the No. 1 singles spot.
For his efforts on and off the court, McKennon is the 2017 Daily Pilot Dream Team Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year.
He had a 45-3 singles record for Newport Harbor, not losing in a dual match all year. The Sunset League singles finalist helped the Sailors (19-5) rebound from a fifth-place finish in league in 2016 to place second this year and make the aforementioned CIF semifinals appearance, in Division 2.
McKennon also impressed in two prestigious tournaments, advancing to the CIF singles division quarterfinals in Ojai. At the CIF Southern Section Individuals, he did a round better, advancing to the semifinals before losing to top-seeded Peninsula senior Connor Hance.
“It was great,” McKennon said. “I played well the whole season and fought through a little adversity with the wrist injury. I’ve always been a good team player. I love just helping the team out any way I can, and [supporting my teammates] was pretty much the only way I could [at the start of the season].”
McKennon had a 30-match winning streak in USTA tournaments earlier in the year, continuing his fast rise with private coach Carsten Ball, the former CdM standout who also played professionally.
McKennon had to miss the match against Ball’s alma mater due to the left wrist injury, and that was tough for him. But he certainly came back strong.
“He has such a strong passion for the game of tennis, and I think that was extremely contagious for our program,” Case said. “He loves to compete, and he’s been a phenomenal team player. He wants to win, but more importantly, he always wanted to win for his teammates. That really showed up every time we had a dual match, just the heart that he played with.”
Other coaches also took notice. CdM coach Jamie Gresh said McKennon had “amazing potential to be a top Division 1 college player.”
“As a freshman, the way he’s able to hit the ball and play big, he’s a very advanced player for his age,” Gresh said. “He’s not just making balls, he’s actually doing something with the ball. He’s a top, top prospect.”
Sage Hill coach Zoran Korac would agree with that. When Korac’s Lightning played at Newport Harbor, McKennon rallied from a 5-2 deficit to beat Sage Hill senior Adam Langevin, 7-5, as part of the Sailors’ 11-7 victory.
McKennon swept his sets; it was Sage Hill’s only match loss in the regular season.
“He definitely has the recipe of becoming a really top-notch player,” Korac said. “He showed it this year as a freshman, but he has three more years to make a dent and even challenge the Ojai crown or CIF crown. Look at the difference a year made with [Woodbridge sophomore Stefan] Dostanic.”
Dostanic was an Ojai finalist this year and won the CIF Individuals singles title. That kind of potential is obvious in McKennon, too.
For now, he can reflect on a successful freshman season at Newport Harbor.
“I’ll remember it as a really good year,” McKennon said. “I played really well, I made a lot of friends and brothers for life.”
Here’s a look at the rest of the Dream Team, including the coaches of the year, three singles players and three doubles teams:
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COACHES OF THE YEAR
Ryan and Meg Broccolo
Costa Mesa
In their first year in charge, the Broccolos inherited a program that didn’t even have a team two years ago, and won no league matches last year. But their energy was contagious and they led a young team to big things, finishing second in the Orange Coast League with a 5-3 record, including two close wins against crosstown rival Estancia. Costa Mesa also advanced to CIF for the first time since 2011, winning a wild-card match before losing at top-seeded Magnolia in the first round, 15-3, despite a sweep from senior Nick Warner.
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SINGLES
Adam Langevin
Sage Hill, Senior
Langevin was the No. 1 player for the Lightning since he was a freshman, but he definitely saved the best for last. He won his first Academy League singles title and advanced to the round of 16 at CIF
Individuals, the first Sage Hill boys’ tennis singles player to do so. Langevin, the Lightning’s team captain, also helped Sage win its second straight league title and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals, as well as beating Corona del Mar for the first time in program history. The versatile Langevin played doubles in that match.
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David Lee
Newport Harbor, Senior
Lee, a two-year team captain, teamed with McKennon to form a dangerous singles tandem for much of the season. He finished the season with a 50-9 singles record but made his mark in the postseason
in doubles, where he and fellow senior Mark Schaefer won the Sunset League doubles title and advanced to the CIF Individuals doubles round of 16. The Sailors will miss Lee’s leadership on and off the court next year.
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Kyle Pham
Corona del Mar, Sophomore
Pham missed a good chunk of the season with an ankle injury, but he impressed when he was on the court. Pham had to move up from No. 3
singles as a freshman to No. 1 this year after the graduation of Bjorn Hoffmann and Pedro Fernandez del Valle, and he stepped up. He finished with a 24-12 singles record and, in doubles, was Pacific Coast League runner-up with Diego Fernandez del Valle. The duo advanced to the CIF Individuals round of 16.
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DOUBLES
Matt Paulsen and John Hart
Corona del Mar, Seniors
The Sea Kings’ strength this year was in their doubles depth, and Paulsen and Hart were a big part of that. Building off a teaming that began when CdM won the 2016 CIF SoCal Regional championship, they finished with a 53-9 doubles record. Paulsen and Hart helped the Sea Kings win key Pacific Coast League matches in the highly competitive league to finish second, and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals before falling to top-seeded Palos Verdes Peninsula.
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Jacob Cooper and Ryan Wessler
Corona del Mar, Juniors
Cooper and Wessler played together as a team quite a bit as sophomores, and they were back at it as juniors for CdM. They played together the whole season and finished with a 51-12 record, another big reason why the Sea Kings were able to prevail against teams like Northwood and Beckman in league. Look for them to be key components for the Sea Kings next year as well.
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Emin Torlic and Steven Ferry
Sage Hill, Sophomores
Torlic played singles during the regular season, with Ferry in doubles for the Division 2 semifinalists. But they were teamed for the postseason and excelled for the Lightning. Torlic and Ferry were Academy League doubles champions and advanced to the CIF Individuals round of 16, the first Lightning team in program history to advance that far. Even their final loss was impressive, as they competed against top-seeded eventual champions Bryce Pereira and Connor Lee of San Marino before falling, 6-3, 6-4.
Twitter: @mjszabo
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