With Chris Chen leading the way, could this be the year Penn boys tennis returns to state?

MISHAWAKA — The Penn boys tennis team boasts a deep, talented and experienced roster this fall. The perennial power Kingsmen also boast one of the area's top players in senior singles ace Chris Chen.

Led by Chen, Penn could boast a state finalist squad for the first time in more than a decade come postseason time in October too.

Now in his fourth season atop the lineup for coach Eric Bower's team, Chen sets the tone for his undefeated, No. 16 ranked team.

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"We win as a team, but Chris is our leader," Bowers said. "All three of our senior captains (Chen, Evan Knapp and Noah Sytsma) are team players. Our team goes through Chris. But he also knows that the rest of the team has his back.

"The odd thing to me is that he's a senior now. He's been here a long time and has a lot of experience. Chris is just one of those kids who works hard at everything he does. He's multi-talented. I had him in class as a student and he's one of the smartest kids in our school."

Chen is off to a strong start to his final prep season. The No. 1 singles ace was 6-1 after the No. 16 Kingsmen improved to 8-0 after downing NorthWood 5-0 Wednesday night. Chen's lone loss was a 6-3, 6-3 final to Fairfield senior standout Garrett Stoltzfus, who was a second team All-State choice in 2023.

Chen says he is still working to find his game completely after not putting in much training time on the court in July while he was attending a summer business program at the University of Pennsylvania.

"I feel all right about the level I'm playing at right now," said Chen. "I'm not upset about where I'm at. One loss is not too bad as Garrett is a really good player.

"It is what it is after not playing much in July. I'm just trying to improve my game, play consistent and be the best I can be."

Chen went 21-4 as a junior, earning Northern Indiana Conference MVP and second team All-State honors. He helped lead the Kingsmen to the regional final, where they lost 3-2 to Goshen. Chen was 21-7 as a sophomore and 13-13 his freshman year with all but a couple of matches at No. 1 singles.

"Chris always has a game plan and knows what he is trying to do on the court," Bowers said. "He doesn't take points off and is always pushing. He's one of the guys who looks forward to the big matches and loves the tough schedule that we play.

"He comes from a great family. I also had his older sister (Chelsea) in class too and they are both amazing students. Chris is a bit of a perfectionist. He works hard to fix whatever is wrong."

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Chen, who boasts a 4.3 GPA and is still figuring out where he will attend college, takes his role as a captain seriously.

"I try and do my best make sure that I push myself and set a good example, whether it's during our stretching or just picking up the balls," Chen remarked. "I always want to be working hard.

"I really enjoy the people on our team. I think that we have a strong chemistry as a team. It's really fun each season to get to know my teammates. I'm grateful for that opportunity.

"I think that my strength is my mental game. To make sure that I keep a positive mindset out there and move on to the next point."

Bowers, whose team will face NIC rival and No. 13 ranked South Bend Saint Joseph in a rescheduled match on Sept. 19, sees a lot to like about his squad. The Kingsmen program has won 22 straight sectional titles. Penn has played in the State Finals four times with the last coming in 2013.

"I like what I've seen from them," Bowers said of his squad. "Our practices have been fun, intense and competitive. We really have 10-12 guys who are pushing each other."

The Kingsmen lineup of late has featured Chen, senior Evan Knapp and junior Quinn Lippert at singles. The duo of senior Noah Sytsma and freshman Josh Weaver have been at No. 1 singles with juniors Jacob Kyle and Ben Stambaugh at No. 2 doubles.

Chen, the son of Frank and Dan Chen, believes his team has what it takes to make its mark come state tournament time.

"We have a really strong team with a lot of potential," Chen said. "I think that the loss to Goshen last year was a really strong motivator for us. But I try not to overthink things like last year too much. We will be in the place to have our best results if we focus on our game.

"I really like how competitive we are as a team and how we are training at a higher intensity. I think that if we take that drive that we have against each other to our opponents that we will be in a place to do better as a team than last year in the end."

And that would be something to boast about for sure.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: With Chris Chen leading the way, could this be the year Penn boys tennis returns to state?