Atholton's Matt Sklar has come a long way since his days as an undersized freshman playing doubles for the Raiders.
Two years ago, Sklar was just one of a handful of talented rookies in Howard County, a crop that also included River Hill's Alec Angradi, Marriotts Ridge's Cade Buch, Hammond's Jonathan Gorel and Centennial's Andrew Tsai. Since that freshman campaign, which saw Sklar win a regional title alongside teammate George Mao, all Sklar has done is work hard to emerge as not only the dominant boys singles player in Howard County, but also one of the top players in the state.
"I could always be in better shape and I could always be a little faster and a little quicker, but I definitely felt better about it this year," said Sklar, who won his second consecutive county and regional championships this spring as a junior, garnering Columbia Flier/Howard County Times Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row.
Even as the reigning county champion, Sklar had anything but a clear path to defending his crown. Midway through the regular season, during a match against Centennial, Sklar got a sneak preview of the competitor he would likely come up against in the county finals: Eagles freshman Ram Kotnana.
"Matt Stevens (Sklar's Atholton teammate) trains at the same place that Ram did, so I heard that there was a freshman coming up," Sklar said. "I asked around with some people that might have known him from USTA tournaments and I heard a little about him and how he played. Not until that match against Centennial did I know what I was going to be playing against, but I definitely got my share of experience against him."
Sklar and Kotnana played each other for the first time on April 20, with Sklar falling behind by a game early on after a series of grueling points before foul weather forced a postponement to end the drama.
Less than a month later, though, the showdown continued unabated in the county finals, with Sklar emerging victorious after three long sets and a tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Sklar's endurance, which had been a focal point of his offseason training, came through when he needed it most. In the regional finals, Sklar again lost the first set to Kotnana, then won a tiebreaker in the second set before cruising to a 6-2 victory in the third set.
"Some of the matches against Ram, like in counties (and regionals), I started out hot and I got a little tired," said Sklar, who led the Raiders to a 13-4 regular season record. "Eventually, when I found my rhythm, I had the endurance to keep going. Those were some long matches."
The regional championship helped the Raiders win the team championship after watching Centennial hoist the County Cup at the county tournament, ending Atholton's reign of three straight county tournament championships.
"I was disappointed that we couldn't get the Cup again, but there is nothing you can do about it. Centennial has an extremely deep team. They're solid all the way through," Sklar said.
Sklar brought his postseason momentum into the state tournament, cruising to straight-set victories over opponents from Dulaney and Bethesda on Day 1 to advance to the state semifinals and the second day of the tournament for the first time. Day 2 of the tournament saw Sklar get swept by Severna Park's Alex Cauneac, the eventual state champion, and Bel Air's Michael Quang in the third place match. Both of those players were seniors.
"Both of them hit with much more pace and they play a much quicker ball than I was used to. I hadn't played that type of power tennis in the county," Sklar said. "Those guys are special. Next year there will be players like them coming from Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County, so I'll definitely make an effort to become more accustomed to that style of play. That's definitely something I can work on."
While Sklar worked to improve his endurance last offseason, this year he will be focusing on muscling up so that next spring he will be able to take another step forward, just as he has done each of his first three years of high school.
"We're going to do a lot of strength training in the offseason," coach Michael Ashmead said. "He's a strong hitter, but I think some of his forehand shots could be even stronger in terms of more power. The whole team is actually going to be doing a lot of offseason weight lifting once we get back in the groove of things. It should be a good next year, we're looking forward to it."
This summer, Sklar will travel to Sweden and Arizona to visit family. While his goals next year include returning the County Cup to Atholton, winning a third county title, and competing for his first state title, Sklar has also thought about life after high school. He plans to study medicine, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, mother, and older sister, and wants to find time to fit tennis into his college experience.
"Wherever I wind up I'll be looking to play tennis in college at as high a level as possible for me," he said. "I've heard positive things from people playing at all levels so I'm definitely excited to try that out for myself."
Also named to the boys tennis all-county team:
Connor Bivens, Marriotts Ridge. Joined forces with teammate Christian Tringali for the second straight season, advancing to the county and regional finals and winning a match via second-set tiebreaker in the opening round of the state tournament. Helped lead the Mustangs to a 14-3 regular season record.
Cade Buch, Marriotts Ridge. Powerful hitter placed third at the county and regional tournaments, and has helped the Mustangs win 40 matches over the past three seasons.
Jonathan Gorel, Hammond. A strong singles player in his own right, Gorel was the fourth place finisher at the county and regional tournaments.
Ram Kotnana, Centennial. The impressive rookie led the Eagles to the boys regular season title and Centennial's first County Cup in a decade. Sklar's chief rival lost hard fought matches in the county and regional finals, and defeated a tough opponent from J.M. Bennett in the opening round of the state tournament before losing to the eventual third place finisher — Bel Air's Michael Quang — in the quarterfinals.
Collin McEwen, Atholton. After helping clinch Atholton's regular season championship in 2014, McEwen teamed with a new doubles partner — Matt Stevens — this season and placed third at both the county and regional tournaments.
Matt Stevens, Atholton. Teamed up with fellow senior Collin McEwen, a 2014 county finalist, and went on a strong postseason run, placing third at both the county and regional tournaments.
Christian Tringali, Marriotts Ridge. Teamed up with Connor Bivens for the second spring in a row, making appearances in the county and regional finals and winning a tough match in the first round of the state tournament. Led the Mustangs to 14 regular season wins for a second place finish in the county standings.
Andrew Tsai, Centennial. The junior had his best season yet, teaming up with 2014 girls singles county and region finalist Jazmin Walle to win this year's county and region mixed doubles titles before placing third at the state tournament. Tsai's play also propelled the Eagles boys to an undefeated regular season and their first County Cup in 10 years.
Prateek Swamykumar, River Hill. Only a sophomore, Swamykumar already had a boys doubles state championship under his belt coming into this season. Partnered with fellow-Hawk Nicholas Zhu again to defend their county and regional titles, then placed third at the state tournament.
Nicholas Zhu, River Hill. The Hawks veteran led his team to 13 regular season wins, then teamed with sophomore Prateek Swamykumar to win their second straight county and regional titles. The pair fell short of defending their state title, but finished their run with a strong third place finish at the state tournament.