O’Fallon tennis returns solid nucleus

Armed with experience, depth and talent, the O’Fallon boys tennis team will usher in their 2016 season next Tuesday, March 29 with a home match against the Alton Redbirds.

O’Fallon coach Erin Thoman anticipates good things from her squad this spring, and if past performances give any indication, her optimism is not misplaced.

Three of O’Fallon’s top six players return from a squad that ended 2015 with a 16-5 record and a 4-2 Southwestern Conference mark.

The Panthers were IHSA sectional tournament champions, advancing their top six players to the state finals.

Seniors Riley Muren and Shree Patel and sophomore Dominic Macaluso are O’Fallon’s holdovers from last year and will form the nucleus of what Thoman believes will be a very competitive team.

“Our team had a great finish to the 2015 campaign, and we think that this year could be another outstanding season,” Thoman said. “Our players have worked really hard in the offseason and are pushing each other which has made for a very competitive preseason. We have three senior captains, Riley Muren, Shree Patel and Prem Patel, which gives us a lot of leadership at the top of our line-up.”

Thoman also lists sophomore Dominic Macaluso as a key ingredient in the success of the current Panther squad. Macaluso burst onto the local high school tennis scene as a freshman and made an immediate impact. A consistent player throughout the season.

Macaluso finished with a flourish, ripping his way to the IHSA individual sectional championship. He will play at No. 1 singles for the Panthers with senior veterans Riley Muren and Shree Patel holding down the No. 2 and No. 3 singles slots. respectively. The duo will combine talents as O’Fallon’s No. 1 doubles team. Patel is a two time sectional doubles champion, and Muren has qualified for state the last two seasons as a singles player.

“We feel very good about the top of our line-up,” Thoman said. “We have a good group of players vying for the No. 4 through No. 6 singles slots and No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The competition for

these positions has been fierce, which will only help us when we start playing for real next week.”

Other Panther hopefuls vying to fill the vacant varsity spots include Prem Patel, Adam Spihlman, Quincy Dollison, Niko Papachrisanthou, Drake Shreiber, Chase Holland, Blake

Heimann, Austin Farmer, Matt Spradling and Josh Price.

Anyone who follows high school tennis in the area knows that the Panthers will have their work cut out for them if they expect to succeed in the rugged Southwestern Conference.

Edwardsville, Belleville East and Belleville West will once again field strong and talented teams.

The Panthers appear able to be included in the mix of top tier teams.

After their opener against conference foe Alton, the OTHS squad will have any early litmus test on the first weekend of April when they compete in the Edwardsville Invitational.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 9:07 AM with the headline "O’Fallon tennis returns solid nucleus."