Thursday, May 24, 2007
Bryant and Robert Salcedo and Scott Warden advanced to Columbus.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN — Scott Warden and brothers Bryant and Robert Salcedo of Boardman High School have a mix of athletic skills and intelligence as they continued preparations this week for the Division I state tennis tournament Friday and Saturday and the Ohio High School Athletic Association coaches team tournament Sunday. Both events are scheduled in Columbus.
There are two rounds of singles and doubles matches Friday starting at 9 a.m. at the Ohio State University’s Stickney Center.
Warden’s first-round singles opponent will be Patrick Bandy of Cincinnati St. Xavier, while the Salcedo’s first-round doubles match will be against Randy Boll and Roland Lmie of Centerville.
District champions, the Salcedo’s were singles players during the regular season and started playing doubles two weeks ago.
They swept through nine matches in winning sectional and district titles. Warden earned his state berth as he placed fourth at district.
A junior, Warden has a 4.0 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society.
“I play tennis year-round and that doesn’t interfere with school work, because I study before I go out on the court,” said Warden.
Much improved
Boardman coach Steve Warden (Scott’s father), said, “Scott has lost in the first round of the district the past two years, but has drastically improved this year.”
“Scott has grown 5 inches since last year and most coaches don’t recognize him,” said Warden.
Steve Warden said Scott’s ground strokes, serve, volley and every phase of his game has improved, but that he’ll have to play his best tennis in the first round at state if he expects to move on.
Scott said he begin playing tennis when he was 3 years old and saw tournament action for the first time when he was 8.
“My father has been inspirational the past year,” said Scott. “At practices, he feeds me many tennis balls and makes me move around a lot and that’s been a big help.”
Scott also competed for Boardman’s golf team and was selected Federal League honorable mention.
Strong duo
Bryant Salcedo, a senior who carries a 3.9 GPA, is headed to Vanderbilt University this fall.
Steve Warden said, “Bryant is just so far above most players.”
“I just love to play tennis for the competition, pressure and single aspects of the game,” said Bryant.
“During the season, my serve has been pretty effective 78 percent of the time and that results in five out of 10 serves not returned,” said Bryant.
Robert, a sophomore, has a 3.8 GPA and started playing tennis when he was 9-years old.
“My brother plays strong, is very crafty, uses a lob very well and helps us win a lot of points,” said Bryant.
“One of Robert’s strong points is he is able to place the ball well,” said Bryant. “When I see he gets his ground strokes into a certain place on the court I know where the ball is coming back and I can place it where I want and win us some easy points.”
miller@vindy.com