One year ago, James Myers had never picked up a tennis racket.

The closest he had come to a tennis court was while playing squash.

But at the urging of friend and Seneca Valley High School tennis player Andy Zipf, Myers tried out for the tennis team.

Then, a funny thing happened. Myers discovered he was pretty good. In fact, he was almost a tennis wunderkind.

A year later and a year wiser about the sport of tennis, Myers is the No. 3 singles player for the Raiders.

"It was just something to do to stay in shape," Myers said. "Last year at this time, I had no idea what I was doing. It was just something to do to kill time, something to do for fun, and I ended up loving it."

From the moment he began playing, Myers felt he had some innate tennis ability.

The speed and ferociousness of squash had prepared him for the speed and ferociousness he found on occasion while playing tennis.

"I picked up the ground strokes real easy," Myers said. "I think I've improved 100 percent. I've improved a lot just by playing every night, every other night."

Seneca Valley coach Eric Grove said he saw a glimmer of potential right away in Myers.

But even he didn't expect the rapid rise the senior has made in just 12 months.

"He has a very smooth and natural forehand," Grove said. "Now, he's added a good backhand since last year."

Last year, Myers saw sporadic playing time, but showed glimmers of solid play throughout the year.

Before this season, though, Grove considered Myers a question mark.

Myers answered every one quickly.

"I didn't know how strong a singles player he would be," Grove said. "We really had all of our singles spots filled up."

But Zipf suffered a knee injury and has missed considerable time during practices, scrimmages and the early matches this season.

That opened the door for Myers.

"He's a solid three for us now," Grove said. "He took one of those singles spots, and now I'm not going to move him."

Myers is still learning, however. He has come a long way with his serve, but, as he says, "it's still not where it needs to be."

That was the toughest part for Myers.

He's had a good teacher in Zipf, who has a serve that has been clocked in the 130-mph range.

Evan Schermer, the tennis pro at the Oxford Athletic Club, has also helped Myers.

"He's kind of been my mentor," Myers said. "He helps me out whenever he can."

Myers also has tackled the mental part of the game. Poor shots no longer bother him the way they did last season.

Instead of banging his rackets off the court, Myers has learned to focus on the next point.

"I would get a little frustrated last year," Myers said. "I'm getting better at not getting so angry."

Now, Myers has his sights on playing tennis at the next level.

He is planning to attend Penn State-Behrend where he hopes to walk on to the tennis team.

It's an amazing turn of events to Myers, who a year ago was more of a squash player than a tennis player.

"I'm glad Andy talked me into playing," Myers said. "This has been pretty neat."