Michael Davis was like many high school students who headed south for spring break.
But the Parkway Central senior was somewhat unique in that he packed a tennis racket among his other essentials for his trip to Mexico. And that racket was used often last week.
"Ash (Sampath, his Central teammate) also made the trip," Davis said. "There happened to be tennis courts on top of the building where we are staying, and we have been hitting a lot. We played for two and a half hours the other day."
It is that kind of dedication which has led to an NCAA Division I scholarship for Davis, who will play at Bradley in the fall. It is also a reason that a player who was a solid high school performer who was far off the radar of the elite became one of the better players in the state by the end of last season.
"I guess you could say I am a late bloomer," Davis said.
Davis started his high school career playing at No. 4 singles, be it on a Colts team that advanced to the Class 2 final four.
He moved to No. 2 singles as a sophomore on another final four team and spent most of his junior season in the No. 1 spot for Central, which again advanced to the team tournament.
Davis had a strong regular season, his only losses coming against defending state champion Matt Kuelker of CBC, Greg Marifian of SLUH and Ford Zitsch of Rock Bridge.
He got onto the radar in a big way by beating Kuelker in the team sectionals. It was the first loss for the CBC standout in two years.
"Things were starting to click and come together at that point," Davis said. "That win gave me a lot of confidence."
The win over Kuelker came after the district seed meeting at which time it was determined that Davis would compete at state in doubles with Sampath (players can compete only in singles or doubles, not both, at state).
"I had made the decision to play doubles at state, and I never second-guessed the decision," Davis said.
Davis and Sampath finished third, losing only to state champions Sam Johnson and Joe LaRose of Rock Bridge in the semifinals.
But the question of how Davis would have fared in singles will remain a mystery. It could be answered, at least in some part, this year as Davis plans on playing singles in the postseason.
"Michael is definitely in line to play singles this year, and we will try to have him peaking at the right time," Central coach Dave Fuhrig said. "Michael has always been a very hard worker, and last year he came to the realization that he can really do something in this game. He has worked as hard, if not harder, in this offseason and should have a great year. He is super quick on the court and can really grind out the points. But he also has the kind of game to take it to the next level."
And that involves a bit more offense for one of the better defensive players in the state.
"I have been working a lot on being more aggressive and getting some more free points," Davis said. "I want to end points quicker."
Davis did not want to look too far into the future when establishing goals for his senior season.
"There are so many good players throughout the state," Davis said. "I just want to take it one match at a time. If I compete hard in every match, I think good things will happen."
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