Savo Simic first touched a tennis racquet at three years old.
He soon became a top-ranked junior competitor in Southern California and, at 10, held the No. 1 position in the United States Tennis Association’s Southern California 10-and-under division.
Now a junior at Coronado High School and the captain of the boys tennis team, Simic stepped onto the No. 1 singles court on March 5 with a calm confidence — a signature attribute of someone who had been in that position, stacked against one of the season’s toughest competitors, before.
Simic took down his opponent, Daniel Lombrozo from Point Loma High School, in a three-set sweep: 6-1, 6-0, 6-0.
“He’s been playing tennis his whole life and it shows,” head coach Dennis Navarro said. “You watch him play and he’s amazing.”
While Lombrozo (who usually plays No. 2) filled in at the top of Point Loma’s lineup on March 5, Simic is expected to face Nicholas Lilov, Point Loma’s top player, on March 28 when the two teams play again.
Simic and Navarro both said Point Loma will be one of the toughest competitors for their team this season.
Beyond trying to avenge a 10-8 loss to Point Loma in the overall match, the Islanders have their sights set on winning the Division 2 CIF championship.
“If we want to first be seeded high in the CIF draw, and then actually do well in CIFs, we need to be consistent every day that we play, and it’s really hard,” Simic said. “So [my goal is] just to push myself and my team to do their best on every single match that they have.”
The team will look to the leadership of Simic as they navigate Division 2 for the first time. Last year, they competed in Division 1.
“Savo, he’s a great leader. He’s been in competitions, so he knows what to expect. He gives a lot of motivation to the kids, he’s very positive for his pre-match meetings.”
-Head coach Dennis Navarro
“We have a young team,” Navarro said. “Savo, he’s a great leader. He’s been in competitions, so he knows what to expect. He gives a lot of motivation to the kids, he’s very positive for his pre-match meetings.”
This season, Simic holds a 23-1 record as of March 9.
Up there with him in consistency is Jack Elardo, a junior, who holds a 19-2 doubles record with three different partners: Patricio Sanchez, Rodalfo Garcia-Muriel and Nick Hacker.
“These kids are really devoted… They’re reliable, they communicate,” Navarro said.
