The Lincoln boys tennis team won the annual Rich Taylor Oregon High School Team Tennis Championships, hosted by Jesuit at the Tualatin Hills Park & Rec Tennis Courts, on April 15. The Cardinals finished first with 76 points, ahead of Lake Oswego and Jesuit.
This victory marks a significant achievement for Lincoln, as it is their first win at this event in at least the past eleven years under head coach Stuart Allen. The tournament featured eight teams competing across eight brackets for singles and doubles positions.
Lincoln secured four bracket wins, three second places, and one third place. “It was a good team effort, really good team bonding,” Allen said. “It was great that we won it and I think we won it in convincing fashion. We definitely have the best team I’ve ever been involved with from top to bottom.” Sophomore Cayden Laughton led the No. 1 singles spot, defeating West Linn’s Perin Huberty and Lakeridge’s Sean Xiao before winning a close final against Mountainside senior Arnav Arora.
Allen praised Laughton’s development: “He’s so good he’s surpassed my ability to add anything to his game,” Allen said. “He’s developing relationships with the other kids and to me that’s what it’s all about…I don’t know anything about his game that has changed other than the maturity and the preparation, he’s got it down.” Other standout performances included senior Tiger Semler winning No. 2 singles and junior Gautam Shanmugam taking No. 4 singles after stepping in due to illness on the squad.
In doubles play, juniors Anderson Kitzis and Orin Koteen claimed victory in No. 4 doubles after several hard-fought matches. Allen acknowledged their confidence but cautioned against overconfidence: “I need to maybe take them down a notch,” he said.
Looking ahead, Lincoln will continue its PIL matches before participating in another tournament hosted by Caldera on April 17-18. The PIL district tournament is scheduled for mid-May ahead of state championships set for May 21-23 at THPRD Tennis Courts.
Allen reflected on broader competition within their league: “I really do want the other teams to field strong teams, everyone wins in that scenario,” he said.
Mountainside’s young squad also showed improvement during the event under coach Michael Horton despite finishing seventh overall; Arora pushed Laughton closer than last year while sophomore Aiden Hanks rebounded strongly after an early loss.
With several weeks remaining before state championships begin, Allen remains focused: “I want to remind them, I think we’re the front runners, but we could lose pretty quickly if we’re not on our game,” he said.
