Anthony Wayne finishes 4th in 1st team tennis state tournament appearance

WOOSTER, Ohio — With a tight-knit roster built around its coach’s two sons, the Anthony Wayne boys tennis team used a lineup with depth unmatched this spring in Northwest Ohio to put together the best finish in program history.

The Generals went the extra mile in showing their solidarity by living up to a preseason pact that ultimately got paid when they reached the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I state team tournament for the first time Saturday at the College of Wooster.

“After they qualified for this final four, they all went and buzzed their heads,” coach Jim Sutto said. “They actually said before the season started that they’d do it if they [made it to state]. A couple of them were rolling their eyes, like ‘Why did I agree to this?’ There were a couple who were excited to do it.”

Although Anthony Wayne didn’t have any singles players or doubles teams reach the state individual tournament May 23-24 at Wooster, its depth helped it beat St. Francis 3-0 on May 17 to clinch a berth in the state final four.

At the state team tournament, the Generals opened with a 3-0 loss to Cincinnati Sycamore and battled to a 3-2 loss to Massillon Jackson to finish fourth. Sycamore won the title.

“Historic season for our boys,” Sutto said. “I’m very proud of how they competed with heart and represented Anthony Wayne and Northwest Ohio with everything they had.”

In the consolation match, freshman Will Black won at third singles and the team of senior Josh Kohntopp and sophomore Reed Hahn won at second doubles.

Sophomore Brody Sutto, who is one of the coach’s sons on the team, lost 7-6, 7-6 at second singles.

Anthony Wayne, which lost four starters from last year’s team and according to Sutto wasn’t expected to contend for the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division championship, won the league title at 9-0 and was 13-1 heading into state.

Senior Logan Sutto, who is the coach’s other son on the team, played first singles while Brody Sutto was at second singles most of the season.

It was the second state experience of the school year for Logan Sutto, who was the state individual runner-up and helped the Generals win the team championship in boys golf last fall.

“It’s been fun because we started out the season with the first couple state matches and doing pretty well in those,” Logan Sutto said. “We have a lot of depth, which is what makes us so good. [We knew it was] definitely going to be a challenge and figured whatever happens, happens. It’s great. Especially with me being a senior, it’s a good-bye to tennis. It’s amazing to do it with my dad and my brother.”

Black is the younger brother of 2023 graduate Lilly Black, a four-time state individual qualifier in girls tennis.

Playing first doubles was the team of senior Ian Briars and junior Geyer Tollstam.

“We have great depth,” coach Sutto said. “It’s usually very rare that we lose in doubles. Our [first and second] singles both had very good records. Our No. 3 [singles player] went undefeated [during the regular season], so it’s not just the depth — there's also some high-end talent. We [entered state with] absolutely nothing to lose.

“One of the things that made this season so neat is that we lost four starters from last year and nobody gave us a shot. I knew with Will coming in and with Geyer coming in that we’d be better than people realized, but it motivated them.”

While Tollstam didn’t join the program until this season, Logan Sutto began competing in the sport in ninth grade and Brody Sutto started in seventh.

Logan Sutto has committed to play men’s golf for Butler and Briars has committed to play men’s golf for Ohio Northern.

Brody Sutto’s best sport is soccer.

“We’re all excited to make history,” Brody Sutto said. “It’s really helpful and fun to compete together. I was always behind my brother [in the lineup], but it makes for good competition. Playing with my brother makes for a lot of good memories and is something we’ll be able to talk about forever.

“Our dad has had a lot of influence and has changed just the way I am on the tennis court. He never really pushed [tennis] on us, but one day we went out to play tennis and it was really fun. It’s made our bond a lot better.”