All-RTC boys tennis: Valley’s Mills is top player

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

There were two big stories among the area boys tennis teams this year.

The first was the improvement at Tippecanoe Valley. The players, especially the singles players, improved greatly from 2019.

The second was at Rochester, where a three-week shutdown of sports in August forced the entire season to be condensed into a three-week span.

Amid that backdrop, welcome to the first annual all-RTC boys tennis team. This list is ours and ours alone and comes from observation and conversations with area players and coaches as well as head-to-head results.

Singles

• Payton Mills (Tippecanoe Valley) (RTC Player of the Year) – Mills was consistent with his topspin forehand and had an underrated serve. He also kept unforced errors to a minimum.

• Grant McCarter (Rochester) – McCarter had an all-court game and was the only area player to play beyond the team sectional.

• Dylan Neese (Tippecanoe Valley) – Neese is a very athletic player who refined his game from last year. It was clear he put in a lot of work.

Doubles

• Brock Bowers-Kyle Reinartz (Rochester) – Bowers used his serve to set up a lot of Reinartz put-away volleys at the net. It was a winning formula.

• Cody Smith-Drew Strasser (Rochester) – Both players were new to the varsity but played with a scrappy energy.

Honorable mention singles

• Brayden Zink (Rochester)

Honorable mention doubles

• Ethan Hartman-Annakin Pettit (Tippecanoe Valley)

RTC Tennis Player of the Year Payton Mills

Rochester’s Kyle Reinartz, left, and Brock Bowers