Kougars’ Sanderson turning heads with his dominant play

Updated: October 3, 2011 7:50PM

Luke Sanderson is getting noticed.

No small feat in a relatively low-profile sport.

“People will come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re that tennis kid,’ ” the Kankakee Valley sophomore said. “And I’ll say, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’ ”

The recognition isn’t exactly new for him, either. Sanderson comes from one of the region’s most noted tennis families and began at an age when most kids were first handed a coloring book.

Though the 15-year-old can vaguely remember his first matches at the age of 3, he does recall starting in USTA bouts at 7. And given all of this, his name has extended a bit further than just tennis circles. Not a surprise, especially given the box scores.

While the Kougars’ No. 1 singles player has an intriguing history in USTA, it’s the high school record that truly sparkles. The underclassmen is the owner of a head-turning 43-1 record over the past two seasons heading into an individual singles match at this week’s Munster Regional.

Sanderson has never lost in the regular season, and his only defeat came from a 7-5 decision in the third set against Will Corrigan of South Bend St. Joseph’s at the LaPorte Singles Regional last fall. His record of 21-1 as a freshman held up as the strongest in the area. And his 2011 mark of 21-0 keeps him in good company with another area standout, Merrillville’s Leonard Mathews II (23-1 in his senior campaign). 

Sanderson looks at the loss as a jumping-off point.

“It was a tough loss and losses happen and I’m used to losing,” Sanderson said. “You learn a lot more from your losses than you do from your wins. At first I was upset, and now it was kind of like an experience thing.”

Sanderson openly admits that it hasn’t always been a road of success.

“I probably lost eight to 10 matches before I won one, it’s just part of that thing,” he said of his early days. “I worked a long time at it.”

Before his days at Kankakee Valley, longtime Kougars coach Dan Roberts didn’t know who the newbie was. The coach is busy with tennis, swimming and track seasons.

However, it didn’t take long for Roberts to not only notice the already sculpted player, but to use Sanderson as a building block for the program.

“I’ve had some good tennis players in the past, but Luke is the best tennis player that I have had,” Roberts said. “I’ve been able to coach elite athletes before, so it wasn’t that much that much of a transition.”

Given a much stronger schedule (with the addition of teams such as Valparaiso, LaPorte and a couple of central Indiana squads), there’s good reason for why the coach would make such a claim. Including the straight sets win over Lake Central’s Thomas Lozanoski in KV’s (6-14) 4-1 loss at the Crown Point Sectional, Sanderson has only dropped one set this fall. His closest contest was a 6-2, 6-3 win over Munster’s Jack Heiniger.

“Basically what I’m saying is it’s not easy to go into Munster and get a win anywhere,” he said. “I get really psyched up for big matches.”

Sanderson is hoping that an improved serve and net game (forged by playing six days a week, year-round) will be enough to go to state and clinch first-team All-State honors. In 2010, he was one of two freshmen named on the second team all-state singles list.

“I just have to play well every round and stay focused,” Sanderson said.

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