Boys tennis preview: Cloquet rebuilds with solid numbers

040821.S.PJ.CloquetBoysTennisPreview.jpg — Cloquet senior Adam Blesener prepares to return a shot during practice Monday, April 5, 2021. Blesener is one of two Lumberjack players in 2021 with varsity experience. (Jamey Malcomb / jmalcomb@pinejournal.com)

By Jamey Malcomb

April 07, 2021 at 8:25 AM

Head coach: Derek Johnson

Assistant coaches: Tom Proulx, Jim Tomhave, Nick Lind, Erik Blesener

Returning players: Adam Blesener, sr.; Ethan Doty, fr.

New faces to watch: Ty Wolter, sr.; Logan Beck, jr.; Tyler Leppi, jr.; Jonah Nikko-Bryant, jr.; Ethan Lavan, seventh grade

First match: April 13 at home vs. Hermantown

Biggest challenge: "We have an inexperienced team," coach Derek Johnson said. "Not having a season last year means we really don’t have many players with varsity experience. We have just two guys that have seen a few varsity matches in Adam Blesener and Ethan Doty. We have about 25 players on the team and we have a lot of new faces, which is great to see after not knowing who would be joining this year after having a year off, but about 15 of the 25 players are in grades seven to nine. It is definitely a rebuilding year."

By Jamey Malcomb

Jamey Malcomb has a been high school sports reporter for the Duluth News Tribune since October 2021. He spent the previous six years covering news and sports for the Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors and the Cloquet Pine Journal. He graduated from the George Washington University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in history and literature and also holds a master's degree in secondary English education from George Mason University.

Boys tennis preview: Cloquet rebuilds with solid numbers

The Lumberjacks' first match is April 13.