Corona del Mar's Shane Korber

We are continuing to look at the top 7 players in each class.

We started Wednesday with The Top 7 Freshmen.

Today it's The Top 7 Sophomores.

Top 7 Sophomores

1. Denis Nguyen, Canyon: The best of the best, as far as the sophomore class is concerned. Denis is ranked No. 38 in the SoCal boys 18 and under and No. 4 in the 16s and under. Most impressive, however, is the fact he's willing to play high school tennis. The Comanches aren't known for being a county powerhouse, and Nguyen could have choose to pursue his game on his own. While he is no doubt doing the latter anyway, he's a positive example of a kid with big game who also wants the high school experience. The Century League title should be a lock for him.

2. Jonathan Huang, Foothill: You can take a lot of what was said about Nguyen and apply it to Jonathan. The Knights' program isn't up to par with the level Huang's talent, but he's part of it anyway. That always deserves credit. Huang doesn't quite have the consistency of Nguyen, but he's real close and rising fast. He's currently ranked No. 15 in the SoCal boys 16 and under rankings.

3. Kona Luu, University: It's not shocking to see a Trojans player on the list. Kona is an example that Uni's program won't dip too much when their seniors depart. He's building his constitency up and working on cutting down on the unforced errors. He has tremendous hands, which allows his placement to be supberb. Coach John Kessler describes him as a player with ernomous talent and all the tools to be successful.

4. Trevor Dell, Dana Hills: The Dolphins might be a bit down from their CIF-title winning days, but to think they don't have younger talent would be misleading. Dell highlights that younger bunch who will look to carry on the tradition when the seniors leaves. He has easy-going strokes, to match an easy-going demeanor. He also has the opportunity to build his game daily with a talented singles trio at Dana Hills. He is currently ranked No. 63 in the SoCal boys 16 and under.

5. Shane Korber, Corona del Mar: Shane plays (and looks) more like a senior. He is continuing to develop a game that is balanced. His groundstrokes are solid and his serve his consistent. As he brings forth more and more weapons as he improves, he's going to cause nightmares for many opponents.

6. Jameson Lee, Santa Margarita: The Eagles lucked out in getting a young talent in Jameson. He's going to be stable influence on the team for years to come. He's currently ranked No. 83 in SoCal boys 16 and under, and combined with the Eagles other singles players, makes for a tough singles lineup for opponents to navigate through.

7. Parker Glore, Marina: The Vikings are the defending Sunset League champions, and though they might have a lot of work to repeat this season, Parker is one reason to believe another title could be coming shortly, if not this year. He his working on his game, and it shows by his movement in the rankings. He moved up to No. 86 in the latest SoCal boys 16 and under rankings.

More from the boys tennis blog:

• Dana Hills defeats Mission Viejo, 16-2
  

• Boys tennis: No. 7 Dana Hills cruises past Mission Viejo
• Boys tennis: Top 7 freshman
• Boys tennis: Athlete of the Week
• Boys tennis: Top 10 rankings
• Boys tennis: Playing with two forehands and two backhands
• Boys tennis: Laguna Beach picking up steam in latest victory
• Boys tennis: CIF team rankings (April 6)

 

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.