ENFIELD – Lukas Phimvongsa has never lost a regular-season high school tennis match.
In fact, Phimvongsa, a senior and Enfield High’s No. 1 singles player, has only dropped one set in the regular season during his career, last year to Avon’s top player, Liam Horvorka. Phimvongsa won the match in a tiebreaker, 11-9.
As of Thursday, he was 58-0 in the regular season.
But he has never won a State Open title, that’s where he’s been tripped up the last two years. Phimvongsa, who is ranked No. 1 in New England by USTA in 18-under, and 36th nationwide, has lost in the semifinals the last two years and he knows this is his last chance.
“I’m just trying to enjoy my senior year,” he said. “My eyes are set on the state title. I’ve been pretty close the last two years. I just want to bring something home for Enfield.
“Last year it was super close. It was two sets. It could have gone either way. Just a few crucial points that swayed the match a little bit. I think my level has always been close to one of the best in the state. I think it’s just a matter of me being able to put it all together in one tournament.”
Phimvongsa lost last year to Greenwich’s Dylan Atkinson, 6-4, 6-4. The year before, it was Petro Kuzmenok of Fairfield Warde, 6-4, 6-0.
Fairfield County players have dominated the Open in recent years, winning eight of the last 12 titles. The last time a player from the Greater Hartford area (Hall’s Dan Couzens) won the State Open was 2007.
Phimvongsa and Enfield coach Armando Ramos hope this is the year that changes.
“I think when you’re that dominant sometimes it’s easy to lose focus,” Ramos said. “I’ve talked to him about this. He’s been aggressive. In years past, he played a little safer. He didn’t want to give up any points. Now he has the confidence where he’s going for it. Hopefully that will translate into more success in the postseason.”
Phimvongsa started playing tennis when he was 4. His father Pho, who was a very good player at East Windsor High and went on to play at UConn, has been his coach since he was young.
Pho only lost one match in high school, his son said, and he too also made it only as far as the state semifinals.
“Hopefully I can keep things going, maybe rub it in his face a little bit,” Phimvongsa said, grinning.
Phimvongsa has a powerful serve and loves to volley.
“I like the fact that when you think he’s playing great, he finds another level,” said Hall coach Jim Solomon, whose team played Enfield on Monday. “He does what he needs to do in matches like ours but a couple of times when he needed points or wanted points, he just found another gear that you don’t see very often.
“He’s also very well-controlled in his decorum. I think he’s aware that all eyes are on him every time he steps on the court and he’s working to make sure he’s representing himself the best he can.”
That’s something Phimvongsa has been working on the past year or so.
“The tennis has always been very good but I think the mental side has always been a little weaker,” he said. “Me and my dad, he’s been working a lot on how we approach matches, how we deal with losses and adversity. The past two years, every point it’s fist pump, win or lose. What I’ve found for me is it works to be very consistent in how I react.
“I used to question my dad all the time, ‘Oh, I did this but it was only one time.’ Or, ‘It was only this little thing,’ but you have to think how this affects you subconsciously and then also how it affects the other player.”
Some experienced players graduated from last year’s Enfield team, which is in a co-op with Aerospace and Somers, and the Eagles have struggled this season, going 0-7. Phimvongsa has served as a mentor to the younger players.
“He’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime talent as far as his physical skills but it’s really other stuff – he’s really done a great job of being a leader out here,” Ramos said. “He runs a lot of the drills with the kids and he gives a lot of pep talks. That’s the best part of coaching him is being able to witness his leadership skills.
“What’s great about when he plays, he’s smiling, he’s having fun, he’s showing sportsmanship, he’s doing it the right way. You can tell he loves the sport. He enjoys being part of the school team and helping his younger teammates.”
Even more impressive is that Phimvongsa is only 16 having skipped a grade when he was younger. He is the salutatorian of his graduating class and he is heading to Brown in the fall to play tennis.
“This year’s been really great, honestly,” he said. “We don’t have many of the same high-level players we did last year but it’s been really fun being able to take more of a mentor role. It’s fun to see a lot of these guys progress.
“During the matches, it’s fun already being committed to Brown, being a little more laid back and having fun with the sport.”