Alex Klibisz, a tennis player for Cleveland High School, plays a match on Friday, April 20, 2012, at Standifer Gap Tennis Courts during the Big Bang Tennis Tournament.Individual State Tournament ParticipantsClass A/AA Boys SinglesJackson Lenoir, Arts & SciencesClass A/AA Boys DoublesIan Derthick and Raymond Kim, Arts & SciencesForrest Hooten and Adam Wolfe, Signal MountainClass A/AA Girls SinglesTaylor Johnson, East HamiltonClass A/AA Girls DoublesEmily Brown and Taylor Eades, Boyd-BuchananEllie Henry and Hannah Henry, Chattanooga ChristianClass AAA Boys SinglesAlex Klibisz, ClevelandClass AAA Boys DoublesZach Madewell and Nick McWherter, Rhea CountyDivision II-A Girls SinglesSadie Shackelford, St. Andrew's-SewaneeDivision II-AA Boys SinglesAnderson Scarpa, BaylorDivision II-AA Boys DoublesBobby Brouner and Daniel Pare, McCallieMarko Mandic and Eric Roddy, BaylorBo Brynteson and Jackson Pride, BaylorDivision II-AA Girls SinglesMichelle Fleenor, GPSSamantha Caswell, BaylorDanielle Simms, GPSDivision II-AA Girls DoublesHarper Caswell and Mary Walker Mixon, BaylorMaggie Crumbliss and McCall Morgan, BaylorEmma McCallie and Hannah Morrow, GPSBrighton Goodhue and Mary Claire Spann, GPS
Throughout the course of the 2012 tennis season, Cleveland's Alex Klibisz used the element of surprise against some opponents that might not have remembered him the last time he played a match for the Raider tennis program.
Two years is a pretty long time.
Klibisz was able to claim the District 5-AAA and Region 3-AAA individual titles, qualifying for state in the process. He has a tough road ahead, however, as he will face two-time defending Class AAA champion Sean Karl of Ravenwood in the state quarterfinals of the Spring Fling tournament Thursday at Old Fort.
After playing No. 3 singles as a freshman and No. 2 as a sophomore at Cleveland, the senior spent the 2010-2011 school year participating in the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program, which sent him to Germany for 13 months.
"It was extremely beneficial," he said. "I got to experience a whole new part of the world and was able to learn the German language. I can now speak German fluently, but I was also fortunate to meet a lot of people, and those friendships can last a lifetime.
"It was definitely my most memorable year of high school."
After his sophomore season, Klibisz worked on his game some, and with the help of retired coach Charlie Smith -- who coached two-time winner of the Rotary and three-time state champion and former Vanderbilt standout Eddie Coates at Bradley Central -- changed his stroke.
"I wasn't training as much as some of the top players were, because I didn't want tennis to take away from the year abroad," Klibisz said. "When I got back, there might have been some advantages in that people hadn't seen me, but I don't think that made much of a difference.
"The biggest difference is the coaching I got from coach Smith and doing a lot of conditioning with the coaches at Cleveland."
Klibisz has suffered only one loss this season -- to Arts & Sciences's Jackson Lenoir -- and admits that at times, this year, he's "surprised himself in how well he's played." He made the state tournament his goal at the beginning of the year, and will realize that goal when he faces off against Karl on Thursday.
"I saw him play at the Tennessee State Qualifier two years ago, and it was like his regular shots were just as good as my best shot," Klibisz said. "I do realize that this could be the end, but I'm pretty relaxed because all of the pressure's on him. I've already exceeded my expectations, and anything from this point on makes the season even better.
"I'm where I want to be [in the state tournament], and although it'll be difficult for sure, I hope to be as relaxed then as I am now."