State-qualifer Pan leads Grafton in tennis

The Grafton High School boys’ tennis team has a new coach and perhaps historic start.

Bryce Halvorsen looked back at records but could never find a time the team began with a 5-1 record.

Two-time state qualifier Michael Pan leads the way at No. 1 singles.

“He will be a top seed at state this year, which will be exciting,” Halvorsen said.

At No. 2 singles is junior Sam Pekarske.

“His game has developed a lot,” Halvorsen said.

Senior Guy Walton is at No. 3.

“He’s a foundational, quiet leader. He does everything right when you’re looking or not looking,” Halvorsen said.

Raijan Gupta is at No. 4 singles.

“He has all the fundamentals to be a great tennis player. It’s just hitting more balls for him,” Halvorsen said.

Seniors Grayson Slaminski and Max Mazzari are at No. 1 doubles.

“They work really well together,” Halvorsen said.

At No. 2 are Jacob Nestler and Shaunaek Chaudhuri. Nestler was on junior varsity last season and has shown “the biggest growth,” Halvorsen said.

At No. 3 are seniors Leo Chen and Ethan Weinhold, who is in his first year of tennis after earning all-conference honors in soccer.

“He can get to every ball,” Halvorsen said.

Chen is a four-year player.

“I’m excited to see how they develop as a team,” Halvorsen said.

The Hawks have 28 players in the program.

Halvorsen grew up in Camp Awana (now The Woods) in the Town of Fredonia. His family was the camp director family from 2011 to 2018, and Halvorsen loved living on the lake, playing ping pong every weekend and going to summer and winter camps.

He played tennis at Kewaskum High School, then Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. He earned a degree in sports management and works in the tickets department for the Milwaukee Admirals. This is his first tennis coaching experience.

“I like the individual side of it. It’s still a team sport but you have the individual matchups. That’s what I like most about it,” Halvorsen said.

The Black Hawks beat Sheboygan Falls on April 8 and Kewaskum on April 16. The Hawks went 3-1 in a Brown Deer invite, losing to Watertown Luther Prep. The team was missing two players and could be 6-0, Halvorsen said.

The Hawks were to host West Bend West on Wednesday, April 22. They host Hartford on Thursday, April 23, and play at Whitefish Bay on Tuesday, April 28.

Port features young squad

Port Washington had Keely Welton and Jennifer Garven take over the tennis team this season.

Garven had experience coaching the boys and girls for a decade before taking a break to watch her daughter play soccer. She teaches English language arts to fifth-graders at St. Francis Borgia Catholic School in Cedarburg and returned last season as junior varsity coach.

She and Welton used to coach together.

“Keely and I had a long relationship,” Garven said. “I feel like we’re a great duo.”

Port has 14 players in the program, led by freshman Nolan Kratz at No. 1 singles.

He didn’t pick up a tennis racquet until last year. He is a pickleball player and has been playing competitively since he was 8,” Garven said. “He understands how to move his opponent and how to take advantage of empty court space when an opponent vacates. His net game is phenomenal, but he also loves to stand at the baseline and drop the ball deep, just inside his opponent’s baseline.”

At No. 2 singles is sophomore Gavin Cain. No. 3 is Noah Carlson, the team’s only senior, and No. 4 is sophomore Tristan Timberlake.

The doubles squads are still being finalized.

The Pirates already have some highlight-reel matches.

At the Hartford Invitational last Saturday, Kratz lost, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (13-11) in two and a half hours to Waterford’s Andrew Weber.

“This kid just put it all out there. It was tough to see him lose because you could see how badly he wanted it. We couldn’t be more proud of Nolan,” Garven said.

At No. 2 singles, Cain lost, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

The No. 1 doubles team of freshman Ezra Logan and junior Andrew Williams lost a nearly two-and-a-half-hour match, 6-4, 6-2.

“It had so many deuces,” Garven said.

Against Hartford, Timberlake had Port’s only win at No. 4 singles over Brady Schlitt in a three-hour match, in 42-degrees, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

“With the wind it was 28 degrees. He didn’t give up. We’ve seen a lot of improvement from Tristan since last year when he decided in his head he was going to be a great tennis player but he didn’t have the time on the court or offseason instruction. He has been taking lessons and it’s really paying off,” Garven said.

Last Friday, Carlson beat Greendale’s Jason Knapp, 6-2, 6-1. The No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Ty Brickner and Will Dahmen lost a third-set tiebreaker.

“We are a young team but we’ve got kids who just can’t wait to get on the court for practice and matches. In two years we’re going to be very strong,” she said.

Garven said she is glad to be in the Glacier Trails Conference — “a conference where our competition is more aligned to our students’ backgrounds, she said — rather than the North Shore, which regularly featured two teams that qualified for state and other top squads.

Port was to host Kewaskum on Tuesday, April 21. They play at a Waukesha West tournament on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25. They host West Bend East on Tuesday, April 28.