No longer a secret on the tennis court, Jeff Jou has his sights set on a state berth. And Jou’s teammate, Scott Singleton, is aiming to make plenty of racket in his final high school campaign before taking flight at aeronautical school.

Buddies since seventh grade, the two Redmond High School tennis stars have high hopes this fall.

JOU: SMALL, BUT SOLID

Jou, a junior who played No. 1 singles as a sophomore last fall, was a relative unknown last year on 4A Kingco courts, but not anymore after a district quarterfinal run last fall.

“He’s good, he’s known now,” Singleton said.

Redmond tennis coach Marciel Whitney said don’t be fooled by Jou’s diminutive stature.

“For his size, he really knows how to put something behind that ball,” the coach said. “People who don’t know him and see his stature, they go ‘oh this is going to be a piece of cake.’ But when he gets on the court, it’s a different story.”

Whitney admitted that many opponents underestimated Jou in his first year playing varsity tennis last fall, but that has changed this year.

“Don’t let the size fool you, the guy is a solid player,” she said.

Jou began playing tennis in seventh grade at Redmond Junior High, where he first met Singleton. He said he spent five hours a day playing tennis when he first started. He gives a lot of credit to Singleton for driving him to tennis practices and matches and of course pushing him on the tennis court in practice.

Jou is hoping all that practice will pay off this season.

“Nothing’s for sure, but I’m really hoping to get to state. To my knowledge, there are some really good players, but nothing I can’t handle.”

SINGLETON: A RISING STAR

Singleton, a senior who has played in a ton of United States Tennis Association tournaments over the summer, said he has improved his game and is just looking to do his best every time out of the court and see what happens from there.

“I have a lot to work on,” he said. “I just want to do the best I can.”

Singleton said a state berth would be the ideal finish to his high school career. As a sophomore, he advanced to the district tournament in singles and last year, he teamed up with Matt Lee, to make a run to the district tournament in doubles.

“This year, I hope to go even farther,” said Singleton, who currently plays No. 2 or 3 singles for the Mustangs.

After high school, Singleton is hoping to enroll in the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and become a commercial pilot. He sent his application in June and is still waiting to hear back if he got in or not. He said the school does have a tennis program and it’s a possibility he may play.

Singleton, 17, said he first flew a plane at age 15 and spends endless hours on his flight simulator at home.

But right now, his focus is on taking flight on the tennis court and soaring past the competition.

TEAM POSSESSES TALENT, VERSATILITY

Jou and Singleton are not the only two with high aspirations this season for the Mustangs.

Lee, a senior, is a long, athletic consistent player who can play singles or doubles. He will be one to watch as the season progresses, Whitney said. Senior Johnson Hsieh is another versatile senior who will help contribute to the Mustangs’ goal of finishing in the top six in the league. Junior newcomer Dhruv Balatzrishnan will be another impact player for the Mustangs, Whitney said.

Singleton said many of the players on the team are “evenly matched. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It balances out pretty nicely. We should have a pretty good team.”