Rose guided Eagles to county, CVC Lake boys tennis titles

Following legendary coaches can be a daunting task.

Michael Rose became just the sixth coach in Geneva’s 60-year tennis history this past season.

“We felt the pressure,” he said. “There’s lots of expectations, and there was a great coach [Scott Torok]. To win the county tournament, a tough CVC [Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division], get two doubles teams to the district and finish second at a tough tournament [Mount Vernon Invitational], it felt like a great season.”

For his efforts, Rose was selected the Ashtabula County Boys Tennis Coach of the Year for the 2026 season, as voted on by the county coaches.

“All the credit goes to the boys,” he said. “I just happened to steer them in the right direction.”

Rose took over for Torok, a longtime coach who retired in March.

“Coach Torok and I have different personalities,” Rose said. “Coach did a great job of getting them ready for the season. I wanted to bring my own energy with the tradition that had been set.”

Before the season started, Geneva conducted a play-off to determine spots on the court.

“Geneva has always had a tradition of doing this, so we kept that part of the tradition,” Rose said.

The Eagles captured the boys county championship for the first time since 2019.

LJ Stark and Myles Colgan, Geneva’s first and second singles, respectively, and the doubles teams of Logan Willsey and Isaiah Rose and Shayne Miniard and Wyatt Jones also won county titles.

“Since all-county was earlier in the season [April], we felt it was a good launching part to determine the things we needed to win on,” Rose said. “To win it is special for our seniors.”

Once the Division II sectional started, Stark and Colgan teamed for one doubles team, while Willsey and Rose comprised the other one.

“As the season goes on, we review what the players want to do, since the postseason is more about individuals,” coach Rose said. “Both doubles teams advanced to the district, so it proved to be a great decision.”

At Canfield, Stark and Colgan claimed first, while Willsey and Rose placed fourth to reach the district.

Stark and Colgan won a first-round district match in Akron, before ending their season in the next round.

Both Stark and Colgan enjoyed playing for Rose.

“Coach Rose was very good about preparing for us in practice, keeping our fitness up, as well as our technique,” Stark said. “Throughout the season, he made sure we kept our level heads, celebrating after wins, but also making sure to let us know we have more work to do.”

Stark and Colgan are both continuing their education and tennis career at Mount Union.

“Coach Rose was very helpful, especially in the offseason, keeping us fit and ready to go for bigger matches during the year,” Colgan said. “He was also very important in our processes of college recruiting, always willing to help and give advice.”

Regarding next season, Rose said the Eagles will be a vastly different team.

“We had seven seniors this season, so we’ll be young,” he said. “We’re graduating LJ and Myles, who did a great job of leading.

“We’ll have plenty of great competition in the area, but our guys will put in the work, and we look forward to seeing them improve each day.”