Decisions, decisions.
On the one hand, it’s a calendar quandary that Colton Belmondo wouldn’t mind facing.
On the other hand, the Kentwood High senior would much rather just have the calendar cooperate.
This fall, Belmondo will be back on the tennis court for the Kentwood Conquerors, one of the teams that figures to be among the upper echelon in the South Puget Sound League North Division. If things work out, he and his yet-to-be-determined doubles partner will play well enough in the league tournament in October to earn a spot in next spring’s West Central District tourney.
But long before district tennis time arrives, Belmondo will be turning out for the Kentwood boys soccer team. And that group of Conquerors is always in contention for a postseason spot.
So, the big what-if: What if there’s a soccer playoff game and a district tennis tournament going on at the same time?
“I’ve thought about that this year,” said Belmondo, a midfielder who also kicks a soccer ball for the Kent Youth Soccer Association’s Premier-level South County Futbol Club during the fall. “I would have to decide what to do. I’m just going to wait and see.”
Belmondo has played soccer for 13 years, and tennis for eight. And though it might not seem so at first glance, he finds that certain aspects of the two sports do link up somewhat.
“For me, it’s the conditioning. Both seem to be kind of intertwined that way,” Belmondo said. “There’s a lot of running and being on your toes.”
But it goes beyond the physical.
“It really helps me mentally,” he said. “My mental game gets down when I’m doing poorly in soccer or tennis. But tennis is more on yourself, so it helps me stay more positive on myself.”
In that regard, Belmondo has a talented teammate in two-time defending state singles champion Max Manthou, who inspires him in the mind game.
“His mental game is amazing,” Belmondo said, adding that while he’s not at Manthou’s level, “It’s what I strive for.”
A race for No. 2?
They put a perfect record into the books last season, and seem confident they can do it again.
That part about the Kentridge High boys tennis team remains to be seen. But this part seems clear: The road to the South Puget Sound League North Division title definitely runs through KR’s courts.
“We’re close, but they’re better than us. We’re young,” said Jefferson coach Andrew Buchan, whose team is mentioned most frequently as the one which can give the Chargers a run for it. “Until someone can play them close at 3-2, no one is in the same breath at Kentridge.”
Added Kentwood coach Ingrid Bakke, “On tennis skill alone, it’s Kentridge. But Andrew (Buchan) does an amazing job of getting his kids fired up. When kids are playing with heart and no fear, it’s going to be a battle.”
Coming off a 12-0 campaign in the fall, then qualifying five players for the Class 4A state tournament in the spring, the Chargers still have enough tools in their box to make a run at back-to-back division crowns. Jefferson no doubt will have something to say about it. Ditto for Kentwood. And TJ gets a shot at Kentridge on Wednesday, following Monday’s season openers.
“Jefferson is the competition,” said Kentridge’s Vineeth Omkaram, a junior who teamed with classmate Paul Yi to earn a state berth in doubles last May. “We’re just going step by step.”
The Chargers will be taking those steps without now-graduated Zack AhYat and Luyang Gai, two-time state finalists in doubles and sixth-place finishers last season.
But not only are Venkatesh and Yi back in the fold, so is junior Matt Overland, part of a bevy of juniors that not only dominate KR’s roster, but are predominant through the entire North. In a division that includes two-time defending state singles champion Max Manthou of Kentwood – another junior – Overland has emerged as a standout in his own right.
Want proof?
His third-place state singles medal last spring is plenty.
“I’ve been practicing my serve for an hour every day,” Overland said. “My serve has really improved.”
Venkatesh and Yi found a very competitive groove last season. They finished fourth in the league tournament to qualify for district, then won four out of five in West Central play – including a pair of loser-out matches – to snag a spot at state.
It was all more than Yi thought possible when he and Omkaram paired up.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” he said.
The prospect of beating Manthou is as difficult as ever, although Kentridge’s AhYat and Howard Lin managed to do it in a doubles match last season. But without hesitation, virtually every player in the division will say without hesitation, “Max is Max.”
Manthou played in several national-caliber tournaments this summer, one of which was the USTA National Championship at Kalamazoo, Mich., in early August. He won four of his six matches there before bowing out in a three-setter. Last weekend, he swept through five matches to win a tournament in Tacoma.
“He has been looking real good,” Bakke said. “He went to Kalamazoo and did much better there than in past years.”
The North takes on a new “old look” this fall with the return of Auburn and Auburn Riverside to the 4A ranks.
The last time the perennially powerful Ravens swung their rackets on North Division courts in 2005, they racked up a 13-0 record to claim the crown. During their two years in SPSL 3A, they won the league title in 2006, and were second behind Sumner in 2007.
The Ravens graduated eight players, five of them with district experience. Many of those taking their spots might be new to varsity, but coach Bruce Diehl says they’ve all played plenty of tennis.
“All the kids did summer work, and we’re just a good, solid team,” Diehl said. “We’re just running the crap out of them. We may not be the best team in the league, but we’ll be the fittest team in the league. I want to be a spoiler.”
With that in mind, Kentridge coach Bob Armstrong likes his team’s chances, but also recognizes that it’s far from just a one-team race.
“We’re solid – I don’t think as much as (we were) last year, but we’re still solid,” he said. “We have some young players, and we just have to see how the younger players perform.”
