Long-awaited breakthrough puts small-school standout atop All-County boys tennis list

Lucas Joyce felt awful. In addition to a lower-back injury that kept him in constant pain, both of his calves were cramping. Adding to the torment for the sophomore from Redeemer Christian was the opponent across the net that April afternoon. Vanguard’s Saeed Elmallah is not only one of the best ten

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Lucas Joyce felt awful.

In addition to a lower-back injury that kept him in constant pain, both of his calves were cramping.

Adding to the torment for the sophomore from Redeemer Christian was the opponent across the net that April afternoon. Vanguard’s Saeed Elmallah is not only one of the best tennis players in Marion County, he is a frequent practice foe for Joyce.

“He won every time,” Joyce said. “Every time.”

But this day was different.

Battling through the agony and trying to play smart by not putting extra effort into trying to reach shots he knew he couldn’t get to, Joyce gutted out an 8-4 victory.

“That was the defining moment of his season,” Lions coach Roy Miller said.

“That is what won him player of the year.”

Joyce finished 6-1 in singles and 5-2 in doubles, giving him an excellent overall body of work. But, yes, that win did a lot for Joyce’s case ― it made him 3-0 against fellow all-county players. He also defeated West Port’s Azael Gonzalez and Forest’s Alex Liu.

One of the smallest schools in Marion County, Redeemer had never had a Star-Banner player of the year winner in any sport before Joyce.

Miller did not build the schedule with that hope in mind, but he knew he had a player in Joyce who could compete against players from the larger programs.

“I wanted him to play all of the No. 1s at the bigger schools,” said Miller, a USPTA Elite Tennis Professional. “I coach a lot of the better kids (outside of their high school teams), and I wanted to make sure he had matches against all of them.

“I knew he was right there with those guys, and he went out and beat Vanguard, Forest and West Port.”

Joyce said he is looking forward to next season, but for now, he’s trying to get his body feeling right.

Aside from a few lessons, he has spent the last couple of months resting and doing therapy (primarily weightlifting) on his lower back. Joyce said he has an MRI scheduled for the near future, and he hopes from there, a diagnosis and eventual fix will come.

He’s shown what he can do playing hurt. Imagine what he can do fully healthy.