You'd think Sam Wichlin would get tired, at some point, of playing tennis. But that point doesn't seem to exist for the Mt. Hebron junior. After losing to Chris Goodwin in the finals of the state tournament, Wichlin hopped in a car and headed for a USTA tournament in Washington, D.C., that evening.

While itw seems excessive, that was almost typical for Wichlin, who would attend 90-minute practices at Mt. Hebron during the season only to leave and head to another two-hour practice with private coaches. This summer will be spent attending multiple tennis camps and playing in national and Mid-Atlantic USTA tournaments.

"He is in a phase right now where he can't get enough tennis, and that can only help him," coach Lisa Vitali said.

"He picked the right time to dedicate himself (his junior year), he's looking toward having a great summer. And he won't stop playing, he'll continue through the fall and winter as well."

One gets the idea that when he is not playing, Wichlin is thinking about playing, and when he is sleeping, he is dreaming about playing.

"Obviously he loves the game, because no one invests the kind of time that he does if you don't love it," said Vitali, who added that Wichlin was like a coach at Viking practices, passing on his training to his teammates. "He sets goals for himself and he works hard to achieve those goals."

Before this season, Wichlin's goals had to be modest. Playing behind David Nguyen and Ryan Lissner as a sophomore, his season ended at the Region V tournament. But this year, with Lissner graduating and Nguyen deciding not to play scholastically, Wichlin could dream bigger.

"I wanted to get to states, and I wanted to be seeded in states," Wichlin said.

As it turns out, even those goals seemed modest by the time his junior campaign was through.

Wichlin lost only one match during the regular season, to Atholton sophomore John Healey while playing on a bum ankle. Healey, a mixed doubles state champion as a freshman, is one of Wichlin's closest friends and a frequent practice partner.

When the two met again in the county championship, Wichlin prevailed in straight sets, winning his first high school trophy. A week later, he repeated his championship performance at the Region V tournament, earning the third seed at the state tournament. He had achieved his goal, but few, including Wichlin himself, expected him to do what he did next.

At the state tournament, Wichlin won his first two matches in straight sets, then came from behind to defeat Neil Soni -- who had upset second seeded Paul Burgin in the opening round -- to advance to the championship. Wichlin was summarily defeated by nationally ranked senior Chris Goodwin, but he had already arrived. Only a junior, Wichlin has generated interest from several college teams, including UNC-Wilmington, James Madison, Mary Washington and Stevenson University, formerly Villa Julie College.

Next year, Wichlin will be the top returning public school player in the state, an entirely new position for someone few had heard about outside of Mt. Hebron before this season.

"I have higher expectations and bigger goals," he said, revealing his designs on a state title.

Wichlin is already working hard toward that end, but he did take a brief respite after the state tournament to focus on studying for final exams. He also used some of that time to hang out with friends, go swimming at the pool, and watch a few episodes of his favorite television show, Scrubs.

"It was nice to have a break for three weeks. It was a nice change, but then it felt good to get back to working hard."

user comments (0)