State tennis: Luke LeMaster's unselfishness and quality play leave legacy at Avon

Depth and talent will only take a team so far if there's no buy-in. Avon's senior tennis class will go down as the winningest in program history with three straight trips to the state team tournament district semifinals and back-to-back district finals. Luke LeMaster is the face of that buy-in. He could have played first singles on a lot of other teams. He's a four-time district qualifier, three-time state qualifier and will enter this year's state singles draw as the No. 6 seed from the Northeast district. But LeMaster has never been Avon's No. 1 player. Logan DeHaven, now at Division II Cedarville, held that spot for his first three seasons, and now junior A.J. Sidoti, who will take a No. 4 seed into the state singles draw, holds it this year. Regardless of position, LeMaster, and his fellow seniors, have been critical in the Eagles reaching their heights. "Things like this don't work if the guys aren't thinking team, team, team," Avon coach Eric Korey said. "We preach team tennis, and having teammates like A.J. and Jay (Kneiss) make Luke better. Although Luke was never able to be our No. 1 guy in singles, he has benefited from having talented teammates. He's helped lead our team to another deep run in the team tournament. Would he have been happier being the guy on another team? Knowing Luke, I doubt it." LeMaster's career will go down as one of the best in Avon history — he's won at least 24 matches every season, including a 30-3 record as a sophomore. He announced his arrival with a 28-5 record as a freshman, reaching the district tournament as an unseeded singles player, and will enter Thursday's state tournament at the College of Wooster with a 109-19 career record. "This season has been amazing," LeMaster said. "I think it's the most special for our coaches. They've been around the longest and they haven't really gotten to see this. For us, we're just along for the ride. For them, it's really amazing." During the previous two seasons, he and Sidoti teamed up to win back-to-back sectional championships and reach the state doubles draw. And the team reached the Elite Eight of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association state team tournament both seasons. LeMaster played a lot of third singles as a junior, and at times teamed with his best friend, Kneiss, at first doubles — including the team's match in the Elite Eight of the state team tournament. His willingness to play in those spots gave Avon an edge few teams in the district had. "Luke is just an amazing character," Sidoti said. "He's always fun, he's always helping everyone out. We wouldn't be a team without him." With the graduation of DeHaven, LeMaster has been the team's unquestioned No. 2 player, winning his third straight SWC championship and finishing sectional runner-up in singles. While it was nice to see all seven players from Avon make the district tournament, the sectional placement matches were a little more stressful than usual, especially for LeMaster. The senior had to play Kneiss in the semifinals and Sidoti for the title. He gutted through two three-set district matches to reach the consolation draw, then punched his ticket to the state tournament with a win Saturday. As a No. 6 seed, he will face a tough road, but regardless of what happens his legacy at Avon is set in stone. "His banners will be hanging on our courts for the rest of my life, that's for sure," Korey said. "I'll be talking about Luke LeMaster for years. He'll move on to bigger and better things and I'll keep talking about Luke LeMaster because of all the things he's done for this program. "He has almost single-handedly put this program on the map. Not just what he does on the court, but the way he does everything. He gives his full effort all the time. He's sometimes hard to coach because he always plays his game, always plays his hardest and gives it everything he's got. He has the ultimate sportsmanship and never lets up. He's always motivated all the time and he motivates others. I can't say enough of all the things he's done for our program." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.