Placer tennis celebrates Senior Day with sweep

At the midway point of the season, Placer High School tennis is unbeaten. At 16-0, the Hillmen have much to celebrate. First is the fact they're having a season in this COVID-altered spring. Although there is no opportunity for Placer to add to its robust collection of Sac-Joaquin Section championship banners – the section canceled postseason play for all sports – there will be a Foothill Valley League tournament at the end of May. "Too bad we did not have team sections this year because I feel we have the best team for our school size in the section," Placer coach Tom Isaac said. "We have a young, talented team that I feel will be strong for years to come." The second reason to cheer is the prospect of senior Spencer Hill as a favorite to win the FVL singles tournament. Hill is 15-1 overall and 6-0 in league play from the top position and has the Placer coaching staff buzzing. "His individual strokes are truly magnificent," assistant coach Fred Maaskamp said. "I've seen some NCAA champions, and this kid's strokes are better at the same age. Can he put it all together yet? Well, he's only 18, but he's better at this stage. He hits harder. I can't really put words into it." Maaskamp said Hill's serves have hit 122 miles per hour. With a 4.0-plus GPA, he's been accepted to Stanford, Cal and Notre Dame, is being looked at by the Air Force and recently received a scholarship offer from San Jose State. "He's a really good student," Maaskamp said. "He's got a year and a half of college credit already. He's very driven. I look up to him that he's this driven on his own." Joining Hill in the top four of Placer's singles ladder are fellow captain and No. 2 Reid Lyons; senior Jordan Carnahan, who was a league runner-up as a sophomore, and junior Billy Bradrick, who Maaskamp said is in line to return as a senior captain next season. Placer's No. 1 doubles team is the freshman tandem of Josh Lyons and Evan Fuller and is undefeated in league play. Carnahan, Bradrick, Declan Moley and the No. 2 doubles team of Cole Schumacher and Dane Eklund and several combinations of the No. 3 doubles team are also undefeated in league play. Another reason for Placer to celebrate came Thursday when the Hillmen honored their six seniors before their match with Lincoln. Hill, Carnahan, Schumacher, Eklund, Cameron Briggs and Zack Moman, who have their photographs blown up along the fences at the Placer High School tennis courts, were recognized before Placer beat the Fighting Zebras 9-0. Despite much of the roster coming to Placer without any tennis experience, Maaskamp said the mentorship of Isaac is what turns the program into an annual contender. Isaac has coached tennis for more than 40 years and suggests he'll coach "until I die." "He's into competition," Maaskamp said of Isaac. "The kids just love to play, even though they have never played before. He gets them playing and gets the competitive juices going, and then he goes back and fills in the blanks with form and stuff like that." But beyond the play on the court, it's the character points that are driven home the most. Isaac and Maaskamp make their players introduce their parents at the first opportunity. Discipline is key. Isaac has been known to randomly ask a player to drop and do one push-up. Proving that Isaac has a coachable bunch, they drop and give him two. And sportsmanship is a must. "They're all a bunch of good kids," Maaskamp said. "They're all going places. They all have a destination and they're good influences on each other. It's a good place to be, a good group of kids to be around." The FVL singles and doubles championships are tentatively scheduled for May 25 and 27 at a site to be determined.