TEUTOPOLIS — Kolten Tabbert knew he wanted to make amends for a failed junior season.
The Teutopolis senior did just that, advancing to the state boys tennis tournament in his last go-around as a Wooden Shoe after not doing so as a junior. Tabbert finished with a 23-8 singles record. He went 2-2 at the state tournament and won the Robinson sectional singles crown.
“The way last year ended, I felt like I needed to avenge myself. Winning the (sectional) singles championship was definitely the highlight of my career,” Tabbert said. “In my opinion, it’s one of the highest achievements you can get as a southern Illinois player.
“I’m really proud of how this year (ended).”
That sectional win vaulted Tabbert to the state tournament. The singles berth was the first time Tabbert made the cut individually. Tabbert and teammate Ethan Thoele advanced as a doubles team two years ago.
Tabbert credits head coach Jonathan Lee for helping him become a more polished player over the past two years.
“The last two years, (Jon) has been telling me to get more aggressive in my play style,” Tabbert said. “This year, sometimes, I’d go back to my old habits of playing defense. Jon really got that through to me this year.”
“Exceptional tennis player,” Lee added. “For the amount of time he’s played tennis, I was extremely impressed. He centers the ball very well. He will do that little extra to make them hit two, three, four more shots and it wins him so many points and, in the end, it wins him so many matches. I don’t know if I had a harder worker on my team in the last two years that wanted to get better.”
Lee was also amazed by the different kinds of shots Tabbert had in his bag.
“I saw him do things I had never seen: switching the racquet to his other hand and making shots,” he said. “I had never seen it.”
Tabbert started the postseason by defeating Casey-Westfield’s Kellen Sullivan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
The 2024 Effingham Daily News Boys Tennis Singles Player of the Year said he came out “a little tight” to start.
“The first game, I’d say I came out a little tight,” Tabbert said. “After that, I had no problems. I played really loose and the best tennis of my career that weekend.”
Tabbert then defeated Newton’s Isaac Street in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, and then a win over Richland County’s Aidan Weidner in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Tabbert fell to Weidner earlier in the regular season.
“When we played earlier in the year, I had an elbow injury, so I wasn’t at my best,” Tabbert said. “I was out of rhythm a little bit.”
Tabbert then opened up the state tournament with a victory over Macomb’s Mathew Sadler in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 10-8. He fell to Marmion Academy’s Benedict Graft in straight sets in the second round, 6-0, 6-0, before going 1-1 in the consolation bracket.
“Players are really good,” said Tabbert on what he learned from his trip to Chicago. “It’s a different level.”
The state tournament wasn’t the last for Tabbert, though, as he will continue playing at Southwestern Illinois College in the fall.
Habing cousins end the season as top doubles team
Josh and Colin Habing have tennis in their blood.
“It feels like I’m carrying on the tennis (tradition) in our family,” Josh said. “Colin’s parents and my parents played tennis.”
Josh said he learned nearly all of his tennis knowledge from his mom, Melissa.
“The person who got me into tennis was my mom. She played throughout her high school years and made it to state,” Josh said. “She made it a point for her kids to play tennis, so that’s how I got into tennis pretty early.”
Colin said he’s been playing since he was in the eighth grade.
“Since about the eighth grade, I’ve been playing probably two, three times a week,” Colin said. “Ever since I quit baseball, I really loved the sport.”
The duo finished the season with a 23-7 record.
Lee said both are different, too.
“Josh is more carefree and doesn’t let things bother him,” Lee said. “Colin is way more serious and focused, but they came together because it meshed. They understood middle of the year what they had to do to succeed.”
Though they ended the season strong, Josh and Colin didn’t start the year off all that hot.
Neither teamed with each other until a tournament hosted by Mattoon, where Lee said he “threw them together.”
“It was hard to put them together,” Lee said. “I kind of just threw them together to start the year at the Mattoon tournament. The chemistry wasn’t there. They were kind of on edge against each other, but they grew throughout the season. I could see the end of the road with them getting better.
“I would say the peaked right at the sectional.”
Perfect time for that.
Josh and Colin opened the postseason with a straight-set win over Casey-Westfield’s Avery Tutewiler and Grant Cochonour, 6-0, 6-0. They then defeated Flora’s Braxton Pipher and Kyler Dennis, 6-1, 6-1, and Robinson’s Eli Rosborough and Aiden Elder, 6-2, 6-3.
They won the sectional title with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Richland County’s Carter Seaman and Marcus Kocher.
Josh and Colin opened the state tournament with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Antioch’s Anton Augusto and Ben Thomson. They then lost to Herrin’s Michael Cagle and Keegan Weber, 5-7, 0-6, pushing them to the consolation bracket, where they finished 2-1 for a 3-2 state tournament.
Josh said he learned his game wasn’t quite on par with the teams they faced in the northern part of the state.
“I learned I am nowhere near the same skill level as any Chicago kids,” Josh said. “I watched a couple of them play doubles and they played completely differently from how we played.”
Colin said that he wanted to win as many matches as possible.
Three such matches will do the trick.
“There were some strengths and weaknesses that we had, but we came out and wanted to win as many matches as we could and we played the best tennis we possibly could have,” Colin said.
Both learned a lot about each other through the whole process, though.
“I learned that Colin and I had a lot more chemistry than I thought we had,” Josh said. “I definitely felt like we’ve grown a lot and winning was pretty nice.”