“Photo: Junior George Spivakov, left, and seniors Dorian Sidhu, Evan Jennings and Kevin Ando will anchor this year’s Falcon tennis team.South Whidbey tennis players don’t need to play in some little 2A league.For the second season since South Whidbey High School dropped its athletic teams out of the 3A division into 2A, the Falcon boys tennis team will continue to ignore its new classification. Due to a shortage of 2A tennis teams in the school’s new North Cascades Conference, the boys are playing in the 3A Wesco league this fall, as they have done for about a decade.Tom Kramer, the team’s coach, knows his boys are used to the high level of play in the Wesco. This season, with a roster heavy with juniors and seniors, the Falcons are as good a team as they have been in years.We should be solid this year, Kramer said of his boys.Seasoned players like Kevin Ando, Blake Skouras, Sean Edwards, Peter Sankey, Aaron Bellone, Dorian Sidhu, Evan Jennings, George Spivikov, and Tyler Adler are ready to move to the next level of their games — the level at which they think more about where they will hit the ball than whether or not they can get the ball over the net. Good court strategy will be the difference in close matches against top Wesco teams Everett, Jackson, and Stanwood — simply hitting the ball hard will not be enough this season.As they increase in ability, we can work more on court strategy, Kramer said. It will be a new experience for these guys.Last year, the Falcons finished in the middle of the Wesco pack. Kramer expects a similar result this season. But the difference between the 1999 and 2000 teams will show up in the playoffs. When the Falcons get to that point in the season, they go back to playing 2A opponents. That is what happened last year, but the structure of the 2A tennis season did not suit the Falcons. Most 2A boys teams play in the spring. To compete, the Falcons had to have a short season last May consisting of sub-districts and bi-district play. Unfortunately, it was too short, and the two Falcon singles players and two doubles teams got bounced before the state tournament.Kramer said he will try to convince his team’s district and bi-district opponents to play the playoff tournaments this fall while his players are still hot. That way, the players who advance will know well ahead of time if they will go to the state tournament.In Wesco play, Kramer said he hopes the boys can win more high pressure games.We had a lot of close matches last year, he said.Leaving the team after last year were veterans Damian Sidhu and Jesse Travis. New, young blood will be a bit difficult to come by this year, Kramer said, since the feeder tennis programs on South Whidbey are still developing. The 2000 Falcons may pick up four or five freshman players this season — not enough to replace the seniors who will not be around in 2001. Still, it’s a start.The summer programs will pay off, Kramer said. Nancy Cole, the assistant coach for the Falcon girls last spring, will be Kramer’s assistant this season. Last year’s assistant, Jennifer Gochanour, will assistant coach the girls in spring 2001.The Falcons play their first match of the season on the road Sept. 6 against Lake Stevens. “