Senior Jason Santa's house is bursting with more than 80 trophies, plaques and ribbons from his 47 singles tennis tournament wins. He is the defending state AA boys singles champion and has been a member of two state champion teams, but you'd never know it. His modesty is overwhelming, said his teammate sophomore Ryan Daley.
"Off the court, you wouldn't know him to be the cutthroat competitor like he is," said Daley. "He's drawn blood for the team more than once."
Santa's credentials don't end with a high school title. He also has six state championships in the Montana Tennis Association.
"I've been ranked No. 1 in my age division every year since I was 10," said Santa. "It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but when I think of it now, it is quite an accomplishment."
Success doesn't come without effort from Santa. Santa's commitment to the sport was nurtured at a very young age. By the time he was eight, Santa had become addicted to the thrill of the court. He practices six to seven times a all year.
"My dad picked up the sport and played all the time when I was little," said Santa. "Ten years after he started playing, he finally won a tournament and after he won, my brother and I asked if we would teach us to play. He has been the biggest influence on my game."
Playing against his brother, junior Ryan Santa, improved his game, said Jason.
"My brother has a lot more talent than me, but he doesn't work as hard," said Santa. "At times, he is the best player I've seen. In our doubles matches, we would win state but yell at each other in between points."
"Our game reflects our personalities," said Ryan Santa. "Jason's more coacheable while I do my own thing."
Santa hopes to repeat as state champion, but says it won't be as easy for him as last year. Besides himself, Santa predicted the other top players in the state to be sophomore Colin Joyner of C.M. Russell, senior Jonah Sandford of Hellgate, Daley of Flathead and senior Andrew Maxjner of Billings West.
"I'm going to have to play my best this spring in order to beat the better players," said Santa. "If I have a bad day, any of them are capable of beating me."