Youth is served: Edwardsville’s Zach Trimpe and Alex Gray earn top tennis honor

One was a sophomore and the other only a freshman. But when the Edwardsville High School doubles team of Alex Gray and Zach Trimpe took the tennis court for their first round match at the IHSA State Tennis Tournament in May, they had a presence and the confidence of a seasoned doubles combination.

Maybe it was because of their high level of competition both during the high school season and while playing Missouri Valley Tennis Circuit and USTA national events during the summer. Or, maybe it was the chemistry developed through years of friendship and learning to depend on each other in crucial situations in tight matches.

Whatever the reason, Gray and Trimpe were not only seeded in the top four in the doubles draw, they had a feeling they would do well in their first state tournament appearance.

And on a late Spring weekend in suburban Chicago, Trimpe and Gray played well. Very well.

“I think going into the state tournament that Zach and I had confidence. We were not cocky. But I think in order to be successful that you have to have confidence in yourselves that you can play at a certain level. Zach and I had that,’’ Gray said. “We expected to achieve good things this year. I don’t know if we expected to be playing in the state semifinals and place fourth in the state tournament.

In finishing the 2016 season with a 35-7 record and becoming the second doubles team in Edwardsville High School history to bring home fourth place state tournament medals, Gray and Trimpe capped off another stellar season in Edwardsville High School tennis history. Getting a solid effort from junior Erik Weiler in singles, the Tigers tied for eighth in the team competition.

But it was Gray and Trimpe, the Belleville News-Democrat Players of the Year, who led the way. Both are already working towards next season. Gray, a former soccer player, is playing local and Missouri Valley Circuit events this Summer, while Gray, also one of the top high school golfers in the St. Louis area, is currently playing in a national team event as a member of the Missouri Valley Region in Oklahoma this week.

“I’ll start getting ready for the golf season in August, I like golf, but tennis is my number one sport,’’ Trimpe said in a telephone interview. “It was a great season and hopefully we can build on what we did this year and do even better next year.

“I’ve known Alex for a long time and we’ve played a lot of doubles together. I really think that was why did so well this year. We know each other and each of us plays alot of tennis in the summer. We know where the other one is at all times on the court and what we’re going to hit in certain situations. We know that when one of us is having an off game or off day, that we’re going to pick each other up. We’re good friends both and off the court. That’s a big part of being successful in doubles......trust.’’

Growing up a Tiger

Like most tennis players who eventually play at Edwardsville, both Gray and Trimpe got their initial taste of tennis while learning the fundamentals of the sport at Tigers Tennis camps. Both Trimpe and Gray attended Liberty Middle School together and before this season had played what Gray estimated at 12-15 tennis tournaments as a doubles team.

They have also learned what its like to be a member of the Edwardsville tennis program. Gray said that with coach Dave Lipe, effort from all of his players is mandatory.

“Coach Lipe isn’t one of these coaches who tells his players you have to win every match. As long as you go out and give a total effort every time you take the court, that’s what he cares about.,’’ Gray said. “Zach and I do that every match and we’ve learned with the help of our coaches, that if we do that then good things will happen. I know I would not be the player I am without coach Lipe. He’s taught me alot about the sport.’’

Trimpe, who has quickly become one of the top singles players in the St. Louis area in addition to his success with Gray in doubles, said that the Tigers benefit from a highly competitive schedule. The Tigers make several trips each year to the Chicago area to play against some of the top players and teams in the state.

In addition to winning the Southwestern Conference and IHSA Edwardsville Sectional Tournament titles, the pair also won NaperValley Tournament during the regular season.

“You get better by playing good players. We are traveling a lot during the season and having the chance to play high level players and teams, helped prepare us for the state tournament,’’ Trimpe said. “Alex and I also play a lot of tennis tournaments in the summer where we’re playing at events where some of the best players in the nation are competing. When we go to the state tournament, we know a lot of the players. We know how they play and they know how we play. That helps.’’

The postseason

Both Gray and Trimpe won over 50 matches combined in singles and doubles during the ‘16 season and after romping through the field to win the title at the Edwardsville Sectional were awarded a top four seed at the state tournament.

Despite winning their first three matches in straight sets, Gray said he and his doubles partner weren’t taking any opponent lightly.

“It’s the state tournament and when you get to this level everybody is good and everybody knows how to win. You can’t take anything for granted,’’ Gray said. “The first day at state we came out hard and just played every point to the best of our ability. We felt good about how we played the first three matches but we also knew it was going to get tougher from there on out.

It did. After winning their round of 16 match 6-1, 6-4, the Tigers pair was involved in the match of the tournament when it took on Christian San Andres and Zach Wood of Downers Grove South in the quarterfinals In a tennis marathon, it was Gray and Trimpe who had the final say in a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 win that had a large crowd roaring in the final stages of the third set and tiebreaker.

“I remember thinking before we took the court that if we won that match that we would be in the state tournament semifinals. It was a wild match, one with a lot of emotion from all four players and one that where a packed crowd was going crazy after every point. I had never bene through anything like that. It was great,’’ Gray said. “There was a lot of high level points and I remember after we won the third set tiebreaker just falling on the ground with pure joy. It was a great moment for both of us.’’

The semifinal match was a different story. Taking on the defending state champions in Deerfield’s Chris Casati and Niko Wasilewicz, Gray and Trimpe played very well. But the Tigers pair fell 6-2,, 6-2, then dropped third place match as well.

“We didn’t play bad. It just seemed that whatever we tried didn’t work. We had played them earlier in the season and lost 6-4, 6-4. But they came out and just played a great match,’’ Trimpe said. “They were two seniors who had been here before. We’ll just continue to work hard and hopefully get back there again next year.’’

Dean Criddle: 618-239-2661, @CriddleDean

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Youth is served: Edwardsville’s Zach Trimpe and Alex Gray earn top tennis honor."