If competition promotes growth, Howard County tennis should be poised to reach new heights this season.
With the return of Atholton senior Victoria Kogan, the 2013 state finalist, the top girls singles players in the county — which already featured Marriotts Ridge sophomore county and regional champion Abby Thornton and Centennial sophomore county and region finalist Jazmin Walle — could be the most competitive in the state.
On the boys side, Marriotts Ridge's Cade Buch and Atholton's Matt Sklar — both juniors — will push each other this spring after trading wins and losses last year, with Sklar prevailing in the county and region finals.
River Hill will once again be strong, as senior Nicholas Zhu and sophomore Prateek Swamykumar won Howard County's only tennis state championship last spring, in boys doubles. Atholton, which won the County Cup last season, hopes to repeat.
After taking last year off, Wilde Lake's Ron Shelton is back for his 19th season, which he says will be his last, before moving to South Carolina.
At Glenelg, another veteran coach, Christine Gaylor — who coached alongside longtime head coach Mary Ellen Doyle for almost 15 years — has turned over the reigns to Brett Schwartzbart.
Schwartzbart, an adaptive physical education teacher for the Howard County school system, has helped coach the Marriotts Ridge tennis team with Scott Dingman for the past five years.