Huron boys enjoy perfect tennis season

HURON — The Huron boys tennis team put together a memorable -- and flawless -- season this spring. The Tigers went 14-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division for their first championship since 2004, before the league expanded to its current three-division format. In addition, they posted an 18-0 overall record, a rarity in high school tennis. "From whatever records they have online and from all the coaches I've talked to, I don't think there's every been an undefeated team in the SBC, and I'm not talking about within the SBC itself, but the total season record, "said Huron coach Matt Weiss. The real kicker for the Tigers is they did it all despite the fact that No. 1 singles player JT Murray, a senior, sat out most of the season with an injury. "Last year, Joey Lenczyk played No. 1 singles and JT played No. 2. But this year, JT beat Joey in the challenge matches and was playing No. 1 until Easter when he broke his ankle," Weiss said. "At that point, we were 8-0, so losing our No. 1 player was pretty tough, but we were still able to pull off the Ws." Murray was 3-2 at the time of his injury, but Lenczyk, a senior, stepped in and went 21-4 for the campaign. Freshman Mason Schindley, who started at third singles and moved up to No. 2 when Murray went down, was 23-3. Sophomore Nolan Stockard also moved up and went 5-3 overall, while senior Sam Findley went 5-0 as a singles player. In doubles play, the team of Findley and senior Jared Lenczyk was 19-3 at No. 1 and senior Dawson Berry and sophomore Nick Walls went 16-2 at No. 2. Another first for the Tigers in 2022 was sending six players to the district level. Schindley beat Joey Lenczyk for the Division II sectional singles title, with both moving on to district play. Huron also sent both of its doubles teams to the next level. "Our first doubles was seeded second, but at second, Nick Walls' wrist had been bothering him for the last couple of matches and JT was getting out of his boot the first day of sectionals," Weiss said. "When we got there, JT literally took off his boot on the bus, put on a brace and I subbed him in for Nick. "Our second doubles were unseeded, but JT came back and teamed with Dawson to qualify for district." The exploits of the 2022 team was a far cry from the team Weiss inherited at the start of 2021, coming off the 2020 season that was lost to COVID. "I had a fresh team with some juniors who had played their freshman year," said the 2008 Perkins graduate who spent time in Florida as a tennis instructor. "We did our first scrimmage against Perkins and everyone lost 6-0, 6-0. I thought I had the Bad News Bears, but they ended up winning their first match against Clyde and then beating Port Clinton. I think we went 14-7 last year." This year, Weiss had five seniors on the squad, along with Schindley, but the real turnaround of the Huron boys tennis fortunes came from within. "They had to love it," Weiss said. "When I was coaching in Florida, I realized that you're either good at something because you love it, or you love something because you're good at it. I just had to make them love it. "These guys are good kids. They wanted to get better. They enjoyed it." Huron's toughest matches were against Port Clinton, according to Weiss. The Tigers scored a 3-2 win over the Redskins in their first meeting with Murray at No. 1. They then posted a 5-0 decision over PC without Murray the second time around. "We beat them 3-2 with JT and everybody healthy, which only shows how much this team improved throughout both years," Weiss said. "And with our No. 1 out, we were able to beat them 5-0." Included in the 18-0 record was the Tigers' 14-0 run through the SBC Bay. Huron also placed second in the Little Giants Doubles Tournament at Fremont Ross and won the inaugural Joe Taylor doubles event at Perkins. Taylor was the longtime boys tennis coach at Perkins, but also a Huron graduate who was a 1997 inductee to the Huron High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The individuals on the team combined for a 104-20 overall record in match play, with Joey and Jared Lenczyk, Findley, Berry and Walls earning first-team SBC honors. Schindley took a second-team spot and Stockard was on the honorable mention list. Both Lenczyks, Schindley, Findley, Berry and Murray earned district honorable mention honors. "I thought we would have a fun year and a good year," Weiss said. "I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning an SBC title, but I didn't think we would go 18-0. I didn't think I would send six kids to districts, either."