Service’s Ulysses Escobar has possessed the heart and talent of a champion for the past four years but the top spot at the annual ASAA state tennis championships had eluded him in each of his previous three attempts.
As a freshman and sophomore, he came up short in the finals of the boys singles division. Last year he was upset in the semifinals despite coming in as the No. 1 seed and finished third. On Saturday, he avenged his stunning loss from the last season by defeating West’s Jude Cebrian 6-1, 6-4.
“There have been moments where I thought it was really important, especially sophomore and junior year,” Escobar said. “After that, you realize that there are so many more endeavors that you can do to improve your game for next time and that’s what we’ve been doing every season.”
He says this season was especially challenging due to weather causing constant rescheduling and sometimes even cancellation of matches but rain or shine, he was always out practicing with his coaches as he was fiercely determined to make the most of his last ride.
“Coach Joe Schmid has been able to unite everybody and make it so interesting and make it so that playing tennis becomes more than just a labor of love,” Escobar said. “They’re really focused on every student, and that’s what made it cool.”
He believes that his trials and adversity from previous losses have helped him grow into a better person over the past four years.
“I think it can help in so many facets of life, including match play,” Escobar said.
It was Cebrian who topped Escobar in the semis last year. This year, Escobar won the first set comfortably but the second was much more competitive.
“It was very tense in the beginning,” Escobar said. “The first one went off a little bit better with a better start but the second, there were moments where there were very important points, and I had to catch up.”
In those tight moments when he finds himself trailing and needing to rally, Escobar thinks back on wise words he received from his mother.
“Calm the waters and after the storm, everything is going to be really good,” he said.
The senior hopes to continue playing tennis competitively in college at an institution that will challenge him academically as well as on the court.
Escobar wasn’t the only one trying to go out on top for the first time as a senior. West Valley boys doubles pairing and twin brothers Jakan Reinheller and Logan Reinheller finally got over the hump and achieved their goal of becoming state champions as well by defeating Dimond’s Jack Debenham and Spike Clark 6-2, 6-1.
“We’re both out here just to have fun,” Logan said. “That’s the only reason we got this far, because we like playing with each other and it’s a fun sport.”
In their previous trips to the state tournament, the duo came in fifth as freshmen, third as sophomores and were runner-ups as juniors last year.
“I’m just happy for the opportunity,” Jakan said. “We’ve been working so hard for it. I’m just happy we could pull it off.”
He described last year’s loss in the finals as “brutal” but also a great source of motivation to make the most of their senior season.
“Last year we had kind of a heart-breaker but I think it was a good thing,” Jakan said. “I think it kept us humble and kept us hungry.”
While Logan was elated to win state, he was stoked that their hard work together paid off.
“Since we worked so hard for it, I kind of expected it, so I was pretty relieved that we didn’t mess up,” he said. “You can have bad days and good days, and today was a good day.”
There aren’t great indoor courts in Fairbanks so they did what they could but once summer rolled around, they took advantage of every opportunity to train on the outdoor courts.
“I feel like we have a special advantage as twins, because we’re also homeschooled so when we finish our chores we’re just like ‘Hey, want to go hit?’ and he’ll be like ‘Sure,’ and we’ll go practice,” Logan said. “We’re always pushing each other and we have good chemistry because we’ve played together the past three years.”
As the twins got older, their goals and ambitions in the sport changed.
“Playing tennis was the fun part, reaching state was a bonus and winning state was our goal,” Logan said. “Freshman year, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do or if we even wanted to play tennis, but we tried it out and thought it was fun. It was a really fun season and we were some of the only freshmen at state.”
From that point on, their mission was to finish on top together Saturday at Alaska Club East.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because we’ve played tennis for so long and it’s kind of a bummer that it’s over but it’s also a good way to go out,” Jakan said. “I’m satisfied and happy with it.”
First ever Region III champion hails from overseas
For the first time in state history, a tennis player from the Region III division was crowned a champion at the state tournament and it was a foreign exchange student who made it happen.
With her swift and commanding upset victory over reigning champion Lana Cebrian of West in just two sets, Colony’s Jan Chongkavinit of Thailand became the first state champion from her program and region overall.
Region III is comprised of Palmer, Wasilla, Colony and Kodiak.
“It’s huge for Region III as a whole,” Colony head coach Susan Brunner said. “(The region) has had a big showing here at the state tournament where our kids have gone pretty far overall but to have someone go to first place is so huge.”
Brunner started the Colony tennis program in 2015 and prior to that there were no tennis teams in the Mat-Su Valley. The following year, Palmer and Wasilla started programs.
“Up until then, Kodiak was just its own region,” Brunner said. “Now we’ve got four teams in Region III and we’re all competing at state.”
Over the past two years even before the arrival of their star from overseas, the Knights program has doubled in size.
Chongkavinit was reluctant to participate in the exchange program, but her parents insisted it would be a positive experience. The program didn’t give the students the option of where they could go but as soon as she found out she was coming to the Last Frontier out in Palmer, she reached out to Knights coaching staff.
“She found us,” Brunner said. “She looked us up and sent me film and said ‘I want to play on your tennis team,’ and we’re just a small little team at Colony so I was like, ‘Yes we’ll take you.’ ”
Chongkavinit has been playing tennis for six years and was “very excited” for the opportunity to play at state and ultimately best the reigning singles champion.
“It has been pretty awesome coaching Jan this year,” Brunner said. “She calls me Jan and I call her coach because she has helped out with so many of the players that I’ll say ‘Jan, show them how to do this,’ and she’ll show them.”
Since the exchange program is only for one school year, Chongkavinit won’t get the opportunity to defend her title, but her coach is glad she has a history-making experience of a lifetime to take home with her.
“The tennis community in Anchorage has asked if they could play tennis with her throughout the winter because she is so good, the adults want to play with her,” Brunner said. “She’s having a great tennis experience for being in Alaska, which is not known for its tennis community.”
Despite not having a single state champion crowned, the depth of West High’s team carried the Eagles to a 12th team state title and sixth in a row while Chugiak came in second followed by a two-way tie for third between Juneau-Douglas and Lathrop.