HONORING CREAN LUTHERAN: Tennis coach saddened seniors’ seasons cut short

Members of the Crean Lutheran boys team earlier this season. Front row: Kevin Hwang, Nick Caiozzo, Max Zhang, Justin Hii and Jackson Hale. Back row: Paul Zhang, Josh Lee, Daniel Choi, Head Coach Patrick Young, Hugh Byoun, Alex Chun and Nick Kester. (Photo courtesy Crean Lutheran High School, Yary Photography)

Crean Lutheran’s boys tennis team finished the season with a 3-4 overall record before the season ended.

“The 2020 boys tennis season will be remembered primarily for the cancellation of all spring sports due to the COVID-19 virus and I am especially saddened for all of the tennis players, especially the five seniors (Hugh Byoun, Alex Chun, Justin Hii, Josh Lee, Paul Zhang) who will not get the opportunity to play this season,” said Coach Patrick Young.

“I want to acknowledge all the hard work and dedication of all our tennis athletes. Starting from early January to mid – March, our players attended two-hour practices, five days per week with intensive conditioning and quickness drills, along with working on individual tennis techniques (groundstrokes, serving, volleys, court positioning and strategy) to get ready for the upcoming season.

“I could not be more blessed to have such a group of respectful young men. I also want to thank my coaching staff: Coach Knopf and Coach Settipane. Both coaches worked very hard with the junior varsity players and I saw tremendous improvement in the short time they were working with them.Although no Empire league matches were played, our varsity team looked strong with non- league match wins for the first time in over five plus years against  Newport Harbor and St. Margaret’s. 

“We also avenged last year’s CIF playoff loss to Mater Dei, by beating them 13-5 in our last match of the 2020  season.”

Young also talked about the seniors:

Hugh Byoun: “Hugh is a third-year varsity player who improved tremendously by his hard work and dedication to the sport. He was one of the players that was always energetic, and the team could count on to give it his all every time on the court. Hugh’s never quit attitude, diving on the hard court surface if necessary, attacking any ball …. will be remembered fondly.”

Alex Chun: “Alex had an amazing varsity tennis career at CLHS. He has such a solid skill set that could adapt to playing singles or doubles which is such a great asset to have on any tennis team.  Alex was selected unanimously by the varsity players this season to be co-captain.  He always put the team goals ahead of his own and gracefully gave his time to communicate with his teammates and keep the team in a good mindset at practices and matches.”

Justin Hii: “Justin is a true coaches’ joy to have as an athlete as without fail, was very committed to working hard in every practice and attended all varsity team events without complaint. Justin has intelligent composure on the courts, and you could never tell if he had a match in hand or was losing, which is a great attribute to have as a tennis player.”

Josh Lee: “Josh was the co-captain of the varsity tennis team his junior and senior years and was always one of the top players that the team could rely on to get match wins. As part of our No. 1 doubles team, he was one of the main reasons the team qualified for CIF playoffs for the first time in over five years. If you ever saw one of his matches, you could tell his power and court awareness were at an elite level. Josh’s work ethic, commitment, and leadership were such a blessing to have.”

Paul Zhang: “As a sophomore transfer, Paul was a three-year varsity tennis player at Crean Lutheran.  His tennis development leading into his senior year was amazing as Paul worked very hard on his individual skillset to turn into a solid singles player for the team.”

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS!

If you took pictures before the season, we would like to share team pictures of spring teams with our readers. These can be pictures of seniors or the entire team and we will run these throughout the coming months to salute the dedicated athletes of Orange County who have had their seasons cut short. Please email pictures, names of the players and some highlights to timburt@ocsportszone.com so we can share with our readers. Horizontal pictures similar in size to the one above work best. Please do not take pictures now for us.