OCA wins fourth straight title in boys tennis
Mt. Pleasant - Watching his team perform at the highest level never gets old for Oceanside Collegiate boys tennis coach Shawn Harris.
The coach had another birds-eye view on May 4 as the Landsharks breezed past Christ Church, 6-0, to win their fourth straight state championship. The Landsharks were the only team playing in the finals that day that was able to beat the storms, finishing just before a downpour. The AAAA and AAA finals were postponed until next week.
“It really is such a pleasure as a coach to watch these boys go out and give it their best for their high school team,” Harris said. “Tennis is a different animal. A lot of the top players work at the academies and play year-round, but that’s all individual stuff. It is awesome to see them take their team duties so seriously. They pull for each other. They have great team camaraderie. Team tennis is fun for them so for me, I love watching them. It truly never gets old.”
The Landsharks finished the 2024 season with an undefeated record and play in the finals without No. 1 singles performer Devin Ruhotina. No problem on this day,
Luke Skillman was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at No. 1 singles and Jackson Nichols won, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2. Huck Reynolds won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3 and Helms Sander won 6-2. 6-1 at No. 4.
Will Ramey won his fifth gold medal as a member of a championship team, winning at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1. He was the lone senior in the lineup.
Closing out the scoring was the No. 2 doubles team of Carter Heath and Graham Anderson, who won 6-0, 6-2.
“We were all pretty happy to get done before the bad weather because no one wanted to make a trip back next week,” Harris said. “The guys were really focused. They played sharp throughout the lineup.”
Harris says the top players will rightly garner all the credit for championships but the coach says every player on the team is made to feel a welcomed part of every practice and every win.
“I don’t cut anyone and we obviously have some players who are not at the level of the top guys,” the coach said. “That’s ok. They are part of everything we do. This is a team and every member of the team is important, whether they play or not. They work just like the top guys do.”
