By Sam Doughton, Staff Writer
Joining the defending state championship team as a sophomore would be a daunting task for most people. But senior Paul Yamane took it in stride.
“I knew most of the people on the team from playing tournaments,” Yamane said. “We had a mutual respect of one another.”
Reynolds High School’s varsity men’s tennis team was coming off a 4-A dual team state championship in 2010 and was poised for another run. Yamane was a sophomore, new to Reynolds after failing to make it into the magnet program as a freshman and spending a year at Mount Tabor High School.
He got his chance with the Demons as a sophomore and now is a three-year veteran of the varsity squad, the leader of a team looking for its fourth straight state championship. Playing in the No. 2 spot in singles and partnering with junior Nick McDaniel in No. 2 doubles, Yamane provides high hopes and expectations for coach A.J. Highsmith.
“Paul is the most important factor to our success,” Highsmith said. “He is our X-factor on the court. Everybody (on the team) feeds off him.”
This leadership role didn’t come naturally at first to Yamane: “(The season) has been a lot different,” Yamane said. “In the past, I didn’t have to speak up (to the team). Now people look up to me and I’m making a concerted effort to make sure I’m a good example.”
Yamane now takes on this role eagerly. Highsmith called Yamane his “coach on the court.”
Yamane first got into tennis after moving to Winston-Salem in fifth grade. He started hitting with the Wake Forest tennis team and really liked the solo aspect of tennis.
“In tennis, the only one you can blame for a loss or mistake is yourself,” Yamane said. “I liked that I couldn’t make excuses, and it pushed me to be better.”
Yamane was soon playing tournaments throughout middle school and hasn’t stopped since.
On the court, Yamane sports a great all-around game that can beat opponents in many different ways. He has good touch, ground strokes, net game and a serve that an opponent once compared to Vince Carter’s performance in the 2000 NBA dunk contest.
“Paul is very good at forcing his will on his opponent,” Highsmith said. “He plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder and is very competitive on the court.”
Explained Yamane: “I just like to be loose and have fun. When I start thinking too much about it, (the match) starts to go downhill. When I’m relaxed and just having fun, I play a lot better.”
Beyond the two state championships Yamane has won with the team, he also won the state doubles title last year with Chad Hoskins, who now plays for UNC Chapel Hill. Yamane wants to defend both titles this year, and if he succeeds he’ll have five state championships to his name, pushing him past Demon tennis legend Robbie Mudge, who graduated with four state titles between team and individual accomplishments. Yamane hopes to walk on to the tennis team at Wake Forest.
“Every day, I’m just trying to get better,” Yamane said. “Not just making myself better, but the rest of the team, too.”