It was certainly no surprise that Cascade’s top boys tennis player, Yevgeniy Kolomiyets, qualified for the 4A state tournament, which will be held in May. But Bruins coach Brian Cherniak was pleased with the improvements that his other players showed this season.
“One of our goals was to give the kids in the middle a chance to develop,” Cherniak said. “For all of my kids except Yevgeniy and Ali (Salman), tennis is their second or third sport, so they don’t have the chance to put a ton of time and energy into it. But they improved, and they enjoyed themselves. This season was about personal and character development.”
Cherniak said the efforts of Salman, Reilly Jordan, Eric Cho and Ben Pak were particularly crucial to a Cascade team that finished the season with a 6-10 record.
“Ali inspired me and the other players with how much he worked and the determination he put into tennis,” Cherniak said. “He improved so much over four years. Eric really put his heart into learning the doubles game and was never discouraged. As far as leadership goes, Reilly, one of our co-captains, and Ben, a first-year varsity player, made sure the team had a sense of cohesiveness.”
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