Mascoutah junior aims to compete at tennis state final meet

Mascoutah junior Andy Graf loves to be challenged on the tennis court.

Whether he’s hitting for hours at a time with his dad and coach Sam, taking on opponents from the Missouri Valley summer tennis circuit or winning his high school matches, Graf is at home on the court.

And for the better part of the last nine years, he has spent a lot of time at “home.”

“I got him started when Andy was six, and from the time he was seven until now it’s been full tilt and pretty much nonstop tennis, all year long,” Sam Graf said. “We added it up one time and counted that he played 350 days in a calender year. That’s a lot of tennis.

“He’s my son, and coaching him can be difficult because I push him pretty hard at times. But he’s a good kid who puts a tremendous amount of time on his game and works very hard. He thrives on competition. He may not be able to beat some of the top players in the state, but he can stay with them, and he competes hard.”

The reigning Mississippi Valley Conference champion, Andy Graf is a two-time IHSA boys state tennis tournament qualifier. He has won six of 10 matches in his first two trips to the state final meet and last season earned honorable mention all-state status.

Graf is hoping the new two-class system established by the IHSA for tennis will help him to even bigger and better things at next month’s state tournament.

“There are great players in both Class A and Class AA, and I will have to play well no matter who I play,” Andy Graf said. “I was top 32 with the one class last year, and I’m hoping to be in the top eight in Class A this year. I’m hoping to be a 5 to 8 seed.”

The Missouri Valley tennis region includes several states from throughout the Midwest and includes tournaments throughout the year for players of all ages. Graf spends much of his summer practicing and traveling across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Nebraska, playing the best competition he can find.

“It’s really great to be able to play some of the best players in the nation,” Graf said. “It forces me to raise my level and teaches you about yourself. How to handle adversity and being able to learn from your mistakes and losses, and then being able to come back and work on what needs to be better in your game.

“I lost to Max (Skaer, of Belleville East) in a third-set tiebreaker recently, and I’ve lost some other matches in tiebreakers this year. Hopefully I’ve learned from those so that next time the outcome will be different. I’m hoping that I will be able to turn those close losses into wins here later in the year.”

Graf believes he is playing his best tennis yet.

“I think I’m stronger mentally, and I know that my all-around game is better then its been in the past,” Graf said. “My groundstrokes are better, I’m moving better and I know that my serve is a lot more consistent and better than it’s been in the past.”

The Class A state tournament is May 25-27 at sites throughout the Chicago suburban area.

Among the players standing in Graf’s path towards a possible quarterfinal or semifinal round berth will be Victor Spolidorio, of Dunlap High School. The top-ranked Class A player in the state, Spolidorio defeated Graf 6-1, 6-1 last week.

“Andy competed with him, but (Spolidorio) is a very talented player who has already signed with (NCAA Division I) Northern Illinois University. He’s a very advanced player with a lot of weapons,” Sam Graf said. “I think a top-eight finish at state would be outstanding for Andy.

“The singles players in the Chicago area ... some of those kids are just at another level, and I’m not sure who else will be in Class A, so it’s kind of hard to say where Andy falls. With a good draw, an upset or two maybe along the way, who knows what can happen.”

Andy Graf plans to play college tennis after he graduates from Mascoutah in 2018 and is looking at several NCAA Division II programs, including the University of Southern Indiana.

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Mascoutah junior aims to compete at tennis state final meet."