By Teddy Rydquist

Leader Sports Writer

A new season usually leads to an abundance of unknowns but having returning experience helps steady the ship.

Conducting our preseason interview with Coach Ryan Ruzziconi, experience is one thing he feels his team has going for them.

“We return all but one senior from last year’s team,” Ruzziconi shared.

“Of the 12 players on our varsity roster, six of them are seniors this year.”

Headlined by seniors Brock Heilig, the team’s Most Valuable Player in the 2018-19 academic year, and Trevor Wallace, the Wildcats have a duo of co-captains that are as formidable as any in their division.

Throw in brothers Dane and Silas VonAllmen and you have four returning All-League players on this team.

Division title race will be competitive

Oakland County, specifically the Oakland Activities Association (OAA), is the hub of amateur tennis in southeastern Michigan.

Competing in the OAA Blue division, the Wildcats have their eyes on a divisional crown.

“Our number one goal is to win the OAA Blue,” Ruzziconi stated. “I think the talent we have returning gives us a solid foundation to build on.”

Finishing 11-5 overall, Oxford went 4-2 in league play in 2018. This was good for a third-place finish in the OAA Blue, behind only Avondale and Royal Oak.

“Outside of our division, we want to be competitive at regionals,” Ruzziconi said expanding on the team’s goals.

“The state champion usually comes out of our region, so to finish top-three there would be an impressive feat.”

Coach Ruzziconi is spot on about the importance and difficulty of regional play. Last year, Bloomfield Hills won three of the four singles matches in regionals and swept all four doubles matches.

Thanks to the tutelage of coach Greg Burks, Bloomfield Hills has won three Division I state championships in the last four years; they were co-champions with Novi in 2015.

The Wildcats did not advance past the first round in any of their singles or doubles matches in the 2018 regionals but return 11 of their 12 participants from last year.

The one player not returning, Lauren Opalewski, graduated with All-State and All-League honors and is now a member of the Michigan Tech Huskies tennis team and is pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Competing against boys, the fact that Opalewski was Oxford’s number one singles representative in last year’s regional speaks to her talent.

Lauren’s coach at Michigan Tech, Kevin Kalinec, sees big things in her immediate future.

“Lauren has a very solid all-around game and a big serve. I’m impressed with her instinct in doubles and her focus on the right areas of the court during a doubles point. I expect her to contribute in both doubles and singles right away.”

The absence of Opalewski will be felt, but this is where that returning experience is key.

Serving as the team’s number two singles player a year ago, Heilig will be counted on to step up into the number one role in 2019.