STATE TENNIS Canfield duo has bright future

Matt Waigand and Kevin Kuppler succeed in and out of the classroom.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Canfield seniors Matt Waigand and Kevin Kuppler will share one of the biggest honors of their lives on Friday.
Nine days later, they'll share another.
Waigand and Kuppler, who will compete as doubles partners in this weekend's Division I state tennis tournament in Columbus, will graduate in June as Canfield's co-salutatorians.
"I think it's great that we've been able to share honors in the classroom and on the court," Waigand said. "It shows we're more than just athletes. We're also students."
Moving on
The doubles team finished as runners-up at last week's district meet and will play Chillicothe's Brad Seymour and Craig Lods on Friday at Ohio State's Stickney Tennis Center.
Singles competition begins at 9 a.m. and the doubles tournament will follow.
"I'm real excited," Waigand said. "It's been a lot of fun and we're looking forward to doing well at state. We're just glad to be down there."
Kuppler and Waigand just missed qualifying for the state tournament last year -- they lost a heartbreaking match in the district tournament -- and have shown a better mental approach in this year's tournament, Canfield coach Larry Davis said.
"They're much more confident," Davis said. "They're not losing matches that they shouldn't lose. They've really improved in recent weeks on their net play and they've been getting better every match."
Their appearance also keeps Canfield's strong state tradition alive. Davis isn't sure how many consecutive years he's had a player advance, but "it's probably at least seven or eight straight years."
Kuppler's brother, Chris, advanced to the state singles tournament last season and was runner-up in the doubles tournament with Shalin Shah in 2002. Shah made it to the state singles tournament in 2003.
Title chase
Kuppler and Waigand played singles during the regular season and helped the Cardinals tie Howland and Poland for the Metro Athletic Conference title.
Canfield, which has won or shared every MAC title since the league began, had two league losses entering the final week of the season, but upset undefeated Howland and then watched the Bulldogs (who also had two losses) beat the Tigers later in the week.
"We had to root for Poland, which we've never done before," Waigand said. "We have a bunch of seniors on the team and when we came together before the season our main goal was to win the MAC again. It was really neat to pull it off."
Neither player will play tennis in college, but they will attend rival schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Waigand will study biology at the University of Miami and Kuppler will major in pre-med at Wake Forest. They still have a few weeks of high school left, however, and they're trying hard to maintain focus.
"We have good time management and that's why we've been able to do both," Waigand said. "But it's definitely been hard to keep my mind on school this week."
Singles
Boardman freshman Bryant Salcedo is the only area singles player to advance to the state tournament, finishing as runner-up to Chardon's Dave Rozek at last week's Division I district tournament.
Rozek finished third in the state last season.
"He's good," Salcedo said of Rozek. "He's a lefty, which gives the ball some different spins. He's a pretty consistent, solid player."
Salcedo, who won sectional and Federal League titles, may not have much high school experience, but he has traveled to tournaments across the country to play top competition. He's also watched the state tournament the past few years.
"I love that I'm going to be competing at the state level and playing kids older than me," Salcedo said. "That's cool."
Next challenge
Salcedo will play Cincinnati Oak Hills senior Jim Brannon in a first-round match on Friday. Brannon also qualified for the state meet last season, winning his first match.
"The Cincinnati area is one of the stronger sections in the state," Salcedo said. "I think the level [Brannon] is at is comparable to [Rozek]. It's a tough first-round matchup, but I believe I can get through."
Salcedo, who has never played at the Stickney Center, has worked on match strategy with his private coach this week and feels like he's prepared for the challenge.
"You're always going to be nervous at a big tournament, but you just have to keep it under control," Salcedo said. "You have to use the nerves to fire you up."
scalzo@vindy.com