Andy Tullis/The Bulletin file photoBend High sophomore Sierra Winch will take the No. 1 singles spot for the Lava Bears.

Summit tennis is a force to be reckoned with. Both the Storm boys and girls teams have high expectations for the season ahead.

And Josh Cordell, entering his 13th season as boys coach at Summit, says this might very well be his best team yet.

The Summit boys are so strong that most of the junior varsity players could be competitive at the varsity level, according to Cordell, noting that his biggest challenge may be choosing a varsity lineup.

“We have so many good players that our goal is just to see how good we can become,” Cordell says.

“We’ll let the results work themselves out. As far as result goals, we always start with winning a state team championship (which Cordell’s teams have done three times in Class 5A: 2009, 2011 and 2012), then work our way down from there.”

Among the possible state contenders for Summit is junior Chandler Oliveira, who last year finished first at the Special District 1 championships and fourth at the state tournament.

Senior Liam Hall is a skilled player in doubles; he was third in doubles at state last year.

“I’m looking forward to playing with a lot of different doubles partners and playing a lot of good teams,” Hall says.

“This season, I definitely want the team to win state and play the best tennis that I can. And if I can win at a high level, that would be pretty cool.”

Cordell lists all 12 players on his varsity roster, but he insists that the Storm have nearly double that number of talented athletes in the program.

“We have an incredible level of depth,” Cordell says. “We have 20 players that are legitimate varsity players at 5A. Only 12 get to play varsity, but really, we’re 20 deep. We are so solid at the top, then it goes all the way down.”

The Storm will be led by singles players Oliveira and sophomore Carter Quigley.

“Chandler and Carter are about as good of a one-two punch as you’ll find,” Cordell says. He added that Hall, a two-time district champion in doubles and a three-time state qualifier, and another senior, William Dalquist, are expected to be among the all-time winningest players in school history by season’s end.

While Summit is stacked this season, Cordell is still focusing on each individual match.

“For me and my coaching staff, we just really look forward to the time that we spend with this team,” Cordell says. “We have such quality kids that are really competitive — that’s one of the things that makes this group really amazing. We’re so competitive.”

Summit appears to be loaded, but the Storm are not the only boys squad in Central Oregon with state-caliber players. At Bend High, for instance, coach Grant Ludwick is looking to seniors Shane Sehgal and Jesse James to lead the Lava Bears in singles. Ludwick says Sehgal can compete in the No. 1 position with Summit’s Oliveira.

Mountain View is returning senior Phillip Atkinson who came in third place at last year’s Special District 1 singles championships. Cougar coach Brad Soto expects Atkinson to be competitive at both the district and state level.

Like the Summit boys, the Storm girls are looking to defend their Special District 1 team championship. The Storm finished fourth at state last season, led by the third-place doubles finish of Haley Younger and Kelsey Collis.

While Younger graduated last spring, Collis returns as a senior.

Also among the returning state qualifiers for the Summit girls are singles player Lindsey Brodeck, a senior, and doubles player Morgan DeMeyer, also a senior.

“We returned three players from last year’s state tournament,” Summit coach Ryan Cruz says. “Ridgeview has a decent team this year. But most of the Central Oregon schools have a problem with depth this year.”

The Storm girls expect to be formidable, but several area players should pose a challenge to Summit’s individuals.

Bend sophomore Sierra Winch took first place in singles at districts last season, dispatching top-seeded Brodeck 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 in the final. Winch went on to state but did not place.

Mountain View coach Shane Therrian says the Cougar girls have been working hard in the offseason to improve on their sixth-place finish at districts. Senior Missy Burke is expected to lead the Cougars this spring.

Redmond junior Jessica Brunot is also among the elite Central Oregon singles players looking to place in the district’s top three following a fifth-place finish at the district meet last year.

— Reporter: 541-383-0375, eoller@bendbulletin.com