Springvale aces the team

By Paul Pickering
AN air of anticipation has descended upon the courts of Springvale North Tennis Club.
This Saturday, Springvale North will begin its debut season in the Tennis Victoria Pennant Grade One competition.
Never before has the small club been in such elite company.
But, after finishing as runners-up in its Grade Two section last winter, Springvale North is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to serve it up to some of Victoria’s powerhouse clubs.
On paper at least, Springvale North looks to have the talent – and the versatility – to make its presence felt immediately.
Head coach Stephen Sruk has recruited aggressively over the summer, securing the services of four proven players in a bid to bolster last year’s squad – and ease the pressure on teenage tyros Trent Cobb and Henryk Pawlukowski.
Stephen Fotakis and Tomas Habsuda have defected from Grade One club Nottinghill Pinewood, while Zoran Josic and Robert Cvitkovic have joined Springvale North after leading Clarinda in Grade Two last season.
Fotakis is the boom recruit; a gifted 20-year-old whose thunderous serve and lethal forehand provide an irresistible one-two punch.
He will be Sruk’s number one in singles this year.
As a 16-year-old, Fotakis was rated as Australia’s top junior player, having ascended to a world junior singles ranking of 229.
But, having become stale at their former club, both Fotakis and Hubsuda – a consistent baseliner and likely number two – are looking to rekindle their competitive fire at Springvale North.
Josic, an aggressive all-court player who was rarely troubled in Grade Two last year, is likely to hold down the number three spot. This will leave either Sruk or 16-year-old Cobb at number four, with a host of others – including Pawlukowski, 17, and resident workhorse Zelko Lovric – ready to seize their opportunity when it arrives.
Cobb, an imposing youngster with a booming lefty serve, will take some serious momentum into the season, having won several junior tournaments over the summer. With Cobb and Pawlukowski just starting their careers and some others seeking a new beginning, it all adds up to a mouth-watering prospect for Sruk.
“I think we’ve got a good mix of experience and youth,” he said. “Everyone’s got a fair bit to prove, and that’s what makes it so exciting.”
As for the prospect of the club ascending to the elite State Grade one day, Sruk is not ruling it out.
“That’s the dream of any club, and it would be unbelievable for a small club like ours,” he said. “But I think we’ve got the nucleus of a State Grade side.”
For now though, the club is reveling in its own new beginning. “All the kids around the club are just buzzing,” Sruk said.
“They see the guys hitting the ball harder – and the new recruits – and they’re just amazed. So that will only add to the club.”