2022 NewsTribune Boys Tennis Players of the Year

Toward the end of the 2021 boys tennis season, Joe Pohar and Andrew Bollis “saw the writing on the wall” that they’d be doubles partners in 2022.

They approached La Salle-Peru coach Aaron Guenther about the pairing, which he said was already on his radar, and it was set.

The duo then went to work.

Last summer, Pohar and Bollis played in several area tournaments, and in the fall, they traveled to the Westwood Complex in Sterling twice a week to work on their games, doing drills and “a bunch of hitting with people who were better than us,” Pohar said.

Pohar and Bollis were friends before this season, but they fostered that friendship to help with on-court chemistry by lifting together, going fishing and eating at Chipotle after matches.

The offseason work combined with their chemistry led to a successful season for Pohar and Bollis.

L-P’s No. 1 doubles team went 25-10, placed third at the Class 1A Ottawa Sectional and won its first match at the state tournament.

For all they accomplished this season, Pohar and Bollis are the 2022 NewsTribune Boys Tennis Players of the Year.

“I think we had a very successful season,” Pohar said. “Andrew and I were really happy with qualifying for state and winning as many matches as we did.

“I think [what made us successful] was the chemistry we had, the work we put in during the offseason and the friendship we had. We were able to communicate with each other during matches. We were able to help each other by telling each other what we were doing wrong and what we were doing right. We were able to fix certain things that weren’t going our way.”

Guenther said he was impressed with how the pair came together despite little experience at No. 1 doubles.

“I was really proud of how they played,” Guenther said. “Andrew is a sophomore and made state last year [in doubles] but played No. 2 doubles most of the year, so he didn’t have a whole lot of experience at No. 1. Joe played two years of singles then had a COVID year, so he’s never played doubles before. I think this season was really a great culmination of the hard work and effort they put in during the offseason and their dedication to really perfect their craft.”

Along with their chemistry, Pohar and Bollis have individual strengths that complement each other.

“Joe’s strengths are at the baseline,” Bollis said. “He can really rip forehands and backhands. He would really set it up well for me at the net, which I was better at, and I could always finish the point.”

Pohar and Bollis lost their first match of the season before rattling off 14 consecutive wins.

Their streak was snapped with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Mendota’s Andrew Stamberger and Logan Brandner at the Princeton Invitational, but the Cavs avenged the loss by beating the Trojans pair, 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 at Mendota in the regular season and 6-4, 6-4 in the third-place match at the Ottawa Sectional.

“Anytime they played Mendota, it was always really tough,” Guenther said. “The Mendota pair are two great kids. The four of them really got along well. It was always neat when we played them because you saw the respect all four had for one another, but they were really competing hard against each other as well.”

After placing third at the sectional, Pohar and Bollis accomplished their ultimate goal of a win at the state tournament.

“That meant a lot,” Bollis said. “I didn’t think it was possible to ever get a win at state with all the good competition, but we ended up getting it. It was really good for us because all of our hard work paid off.”