Playing No. 1 singles for Sehome nothing compared to pressure he put on himself
There are big shoes to fill playing No. 1 singles for the Sehome boys tennis team.
Need proof? Just look at who’s been selected The Bellingham Herald’s All-Whatcom County Boys Tennis Player of the Year the past decade – with the exception of 2010, when the Mariners’ No. 1 doubles team received the honor, it’s been the squad’s top singles player.
This year, you can add sophomore Shane Lynette to that list, as he swept through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record before adding four more wins, a Class 2A bi-district singles title and securing a trip to state this spring to his résumé.
For Lynette, the pressure of following in the footsteps of players such as Will Topp, Avery West and Max Shmotolokha has been almost easy compared to the expectations he puts on himself.
“There are a lot of times I feel I can still do better,” Lynette said. “I feel like if I settle for where I’m at, I won’t get any better. It helps me understand there is always room to improve.”
Though his record certainly didn’t show it, there were times when Lynette struggled.
Usually when he did, Sehome coach Bonna Giller said, Lynette simply got too hard on himself. Sometimes, a winning shot wasn’t good enough – he had to hit the perfect shot.
“He’s super hard on himself,” Giller said. “It’s important for him to play good points, smart points, and if he doesn’t, he’s unhappy about that. ... It was hard to maintain a certain level of play. He’d get down on self, even if he won a point, and it would affect his play.”
Giller worked with him to improve the mental aspects of his game and not be so hard on himself. Though Giller said he’s always been good when an opponent hits a winning shot against him, he also needed to realize he wasn’t always going to be able to hit a perfect shot.
The work has paid off. Since his freshman season, Giller said, Lynette “has come a long way with the mental side of his game.”
“I have to remind myself that tennis is just a game, and it’s not the end of the year,” Lynette said. “I have many more points and many more matches, and I’m not going to let one little thing dictate what happens.”
If he can continue to grow, who knows what Lynette will be capable of at the state tournament in May or in his final two years at Sehome.
All-Whatcom County Boys Tennis Players of the Year
2005: John Farris, Squalicum
2006: Adam Rager, Sehome
2007: Will Topp, Sehome
2008: Will Topp, Sehome
2009: Will Topp, Sehome
2010: Bjorn Thorpe and Matt Gobel, Sehome
2011: Avery West, Sehome
2012: Avery West, Sehome
2013: Brady Anderson, Sehome
2014: Max Shmotolokha, Sehome
2015: Max Shmotolohka, Sehome
2016: Shane Lynette, Sehome
2016 All-Whatcom County Boys Tennis first team
Player | School | Year | Event |
Tate Freeman | Ferndale | Sr. | Singles |
First team All-NWC selection ... Compiled a 10-2 regular-season record as Ferndale’s No. 2 singles player ... Helped Golden Eagles to best mark (10-2) in school history. Advanced to the Class 3A Wesco North tournament. | |||
Ben Grabau | Bellingham | So. | Singles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Advanced to Class 2A bi-district semifinals before dropping two straight matches to end season with 11-8 record. | |||
Cavan Lyons | Ferndale | Sr. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with brother Tommy Lyons to win the Class 3A Northwest District doubles title and become the first Ferndale tennis players to advance to state. Compiled an 11-1 regular-season record as Ferndale’s No. 3 singles player. | |||
Tommy Lyons | Ferndale | So. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with brother Cavan Lyons to win the Class 3A Northwest District doubles title and become the first Ferndale tennis players to advance to state. Compiled a 7-5 record as Ferndale’s No. 1 singles player during the regular season. | |||
Darren Ma | Sehome | Sr. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with teammate William Zhang to finish second in the Class 2A bi-district doubles draw and clinch a trip to state. Posted a 14-0 record as No. 2 singles and was 2-0 in doubles in the regular season. | |||
Zach Nolan | Bellingham | Sr. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with teammate Henry Ziles to finish fourth in Class 2A bi-district doubles draw. Posted a 17-4 record this fall. | |||
Koal Reyes-Schulze | Bellingham | Jr. | Singles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Advanced to Class 2A bi-district quarterfinals before dropping two straight matches to end season with 10-10 record. | |||
Colin Weller | Squalicum | So. | Singles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Advanced to the championship match of the Class 3A Northwest District, becoming the first Storm singles player to earn a trip to state. Posted a 17-3 record this fall. | |||
William Zhang | Sehome | Jr. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with teammate Darren Ma to finish second in the Class 2A bi-district doubles draw and clinch a trip to state. Posted a 13-0 record as No. 3 singles record this fall and was 3-0 in doubles in regular season. | |||
Henry Ziels | Bellingham | Sr. | Doubles |
First-team All-NWC selection ... Combined with teammate Henry Ziles to finish fourth in Class 2A bi-district doubles draw. Posted a 14-7 record this fall. | |||
This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Playing No. 1 singles for Sehome nothing compared to pressure he put on himself."