Jefferson's Yarosh earns county co-tennis player of the year honor
Jun. 18—As a youngster, Jensen Yarosh became involved in volleyball.
My sister [Ashton, who went to St. John] played it in high school," the rising Jefferson junior said. "I've played it longer."
In just a couple of weeks, Yarosh and his teammates will head out to Las Vegas for a national tournament.
"I play for a club volleyball team in Cleveland called the Phoenix," Yarosh said.
Yarosh and Edgewood's Noah Vencill are on the Phoenix's 16 Gold (national team).
But Yarosh is also involved in tennis.
He had quite the 2022 season, capped off by being selected Ashtabula County Co-Player of the Year honors, along with Lakeside's Joey Varckette.
"It's a great honor to share with a player like Joey," Yarosh said. "I want to thank my coaches, I couldn't do it without them, and my teammates."
Yarosh finished the season 16-7 overall, 7-0 Northeast 8 Conference mark.
He also dropped just one match in the county. Yarosh and Varckette, both first-singles players, split two matches this season.
Yarosh won an early-season battle in a dual 7-5, 6-4 at the end of March.
"I know how good of a player Joey is," Yarosh said. "I was happy to beat him."
In the county tournament in April, Varckette claimed the first-singles title 6-4, 6-4.
Still, the Falcons won the county team title, edging out Lakeside.
"It was a great feeling," Yarosh said. "We had a great group of guys who put the work in, and we got it done."
Yarosh, who transferred from St. John before the season of his freshman season, continued to play well and ended up reaching the Division II district tournament.
He defeated Hawken's Ryan Levine 6-4, 6-1; Perry's Johnny Jablonski 6-1, 6-3 and Geneva's Isaac Ridell 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals at Solon.
Yarosh then beat Perry's Allen Morris 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn a chance at a sectional title.
That didn't happen, however, as Yarosh lost 6-3, 6-4 to Hawken's Ashwin Balakrishnan to place second.
"It was a great opportunity going against a great Hawken opponent," Yarosh said.
Yarosh said defeating Levine was a boost.
"It was a pretty good feeling," he said. "It gave me a lot of confidence."
Once in the district at Akron, Yarosh ran into the defending Division II state champion Andrew Zimcosky in a first-round match. Zimcosky ended up defeating Yarosh 6-0, 6-1.
"I tried to keep the ball in, and play as hard as I could," Yarosh said.
Falcons coach Brandon Hanna said Yarosh had a great campaign, and likes his potential for the future.
"He played well all season, but he really got hot at the end of the season," Hanna said. "I'm extremely proud of his accomplishments. I'm looking forward to two more years with him."
Yarosh said he'll practice tennis this summer, but also work on his volleyball game.
"I'm working on getting a volleyball team at Jefferson," he said.
Until that time, Yarosh will look to improve his tennis, and move the game to another level.
"Our goals next year are to bring the county tournament team title back to Jefferson," he said. "I'd like to advance out of the sectional and win a match or so in the district."
