Faith Lutheran’s Tyson Young aims for 5A singles tennis championship

Faith Lutheran tennis coach Keith Fridrich has guided his last two boys teams to state titles, but he has never had an individual champion.

That could change this season.

Although he’s not the favorite, junior Tyson Young is inching closer and closer to the top. Fridrich has watched his top player’s improvement, and he believes this could be the year.

“I would love for him to get another chance,” said Fridrich, noting that Young has nearly beaten defending state champion Lucas Rago in the past. “There have been a couple of times when he was super close.”

Young thinks he’s ready.

“My goal is to win a state championship,” he confirmed.

That goal is a longshot, considering Young did not play tennis until 2020, when his mother provided a few pointers based on her own high school tennis career. He showed up for practice at the beginning of his middle school career and has followed an uphill trajectory ever since.

“I’ve gotten to watch his development from the sixth grade to now,” Fridrich said. “He started on the middle school B team, and now he’s so much faster, athletic and fluid. He’s also much more aggressive when the right time comes.”

Young was beaten handily by Rago in last year’s state quarterfinals, and he wants revenge. But he insists his rivalry with the Bishop Gorman standout stays on the court.

“We’re actually pretty good friends off the court,” said Young, who has furthered his relationship with Rago in outside tournaments. “On the court, we want to beat each other at all cost.”

Young has climbed 700 spots in the United States Tennis Association’s 16s ranking to No. 200 in the past year, was named last year’s most improved player by USTA Nevada and was invited to play at the USTA Nationals in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

“It was always a goal for me to be nationally ranked,” he said. “But I feel my job is not finished.”

He said he sees his game improving, giving him hope that there are more goals to be achieved.

“It’s the amount of balls I put inside the court consistently,” Young said. “I’m aggressive at times, and I think I’m an all-around player.”

Those strengths also help his teammates to perform at their best.

“Tyson has been with us for two years, and we’ve won both times,” said Fridrich, who noted that Young placed third in state playing doubles as a freshman. “That’s probably not an accident. He’s been instrumental in both.”

Young’s only loss this season came against Rago, who has led Gorman to the top of the standings. The Crusaders and Palo Verde are tied for second with one league loss apiece, and perennial power Coronado can’t be counted out with two losses.

“There are four really good teams in 5A,” Fridrich said. “But I like the way we were playing.”

Faith Lutheran took second in the prestigious 16-team Western Slope Invitational in Colorado earlier this month, where Young claimed second place at No. 1 singles, so Fridrich expects another battle with the other three teams that seem to make it to the semifinals every season.

On the girls’ side, Coronado remains undefeated in 5A league play, Gorman and Faith Lutheran each have one loss, and Palo Verde is fourth with two losses.

Faith Lutheran’s boys and girls host Palo Verde in a key league match at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Bishop Gorman plays at Coronado in an equally important match at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Boys postseason action opens Oct. 5 with the team tournament, with the singles/doubles tourney set to begin Oct. 13. The girls will open team action on Oct. 6 and follow with individual play on Oct. 13.