West Linn boys ready to rule in TRL tennis

The Lions bring back all six players who helped them finish third at state last year.

Team: West Linn boys tennis

Coach: Darrell Hawkins

Team Leaders: The 2023 Lions are led by senior captain Jax Ledwith (the reigning Three Rivers League singles champion and third-place finisher at the Class 6A state tournament), sophomore Zach Steinberg (he was third in TRL singles and reached the second round at state), senior captain Cameron Paulsen and sophomore Rhyson Chiang (second in TRL doubles and 6A quarterfinalists), and junior Grant Hawkins and senior Nick Owens (fourth in TRL doubles and 6A quarterfinalists).

“We are fortunate to have six players returning (who) … captured third place as a team in the 6A state championship in 2022,” said West Linn coach Darrell Hawkins. “All of these players have a breadth of experience in both singles and doubles.”

Singles: While there’s been some modest variety in the Lions’ singles ladder, it’s generally been Ledwith at No. 1, Grant Hawkins at second singles, senior Thomas Crawford at No. 3 and junior Youssef Abdelsamad at fourth singles, along with freshman Rowan Morrison.

Doubles: So far, Paulsen and Chiang have led the way at first singles, Steinberg and junior Keyan Fernando (who returns to the West Linn lineup after a year off) go at No. 2, Owens and junior Akshay Krishnamoorthy play third doubles, and freshman Perin Huberty and Morrison have seen the most time at No. 4 doubles.

Also ready for varsity time this year are sophomore John Avery, senior Ben Garcia, senior Evan Gregg and senior Wyatt Brambilla.

“Overall, we are very fortunate to have a lot of depth in talent and several seniors with experience in our program for 2023,” Darrell Hawkins said.

League Race: Hawkins said he expects Lake Oswego — the defending TRL regular-season champ — and Lakeridge to be strong again this year.

“We believe we have an opportunity to do well in the TRL and look forward to competing with all the teams in our league and outside our conference,” Darrell Hawkins added. “We know there will be competitive matches all the way around and we see an opportunity to compete for the league title.”

See the Lakeridge boys team preview by clicking here.

See the Lake Oswego boys team preview by clicking here.