Kristian Kiland thinks he's stopped growing.
At six-foot-two, or 185 centimetres in metric terms, Kiland has likely reached the height he will remain as an adult. But in terms of his tennis ability, chances are there's significant growth spurt coming his way.
Already ranked as one the city's top players, the 16-year-old Prince George Tennis Club showed flashes of brilliance on the court two weekends ago at the Labour Day Open in Vernon, where he advanced as far as the semifinal round before he was eliminated by PGTC pro Andriy Vdovenko.
He also took on the top men in the doubles event in Vernon, teaming up with Jim Condon, his brother and coach, to reach the semifinal.
Kiland made the jump to the championship level in junior tournaments in Washington state and for the first time played at the B.C. junior provincial championships in Vancouver. Those higher-calibre matches against his age peers helped him reach semifinals in four adult open events, including the Labour Day tournament, Prince George Open, Prince George City Championships,
and the West Kootenay Open in Nelson.
Those are encouraging results for Kiland, who has high hopes his tennis skills and his President's List academic standing at Kelly Road secondary school will lead to a scholarship at an NCAA U.S. college.
"It was a pretty good accomplishment to make semifinals," Kiland said. "It's tough playing adults because they're more developed and stronger but it gives me a good challenge. Then when I play juniors it's a little bit easier just because they're at the same level as me.
"I'm playing way better than I ever have before."
Kiland has made significant improvements in his serve. If he doesn't get the first one in, his second serve rarely lets him down. He works out regularly in a weightroom and that's put more power into his tennis swings. Now that he's over his gangly teenager phase and his limbs are no longer sprouting like weeds, he's more co-ordinated on the court and has more control over his returns.
"He's starting to play a lot more aggressive with a lot more confidence in his shots," said Vdovenko, who played Kiland in a singles match Saturday at the club. "Most of the time I was on defence with him, which I don't like. When I play him, there's usually long rallies that I can't finish because he's fast and can get to most balls.
"He's getting better and better with age and experience and by the time he's 18 he will be a really good player. "
Prince George has no indoor tennis courts and Kiland considered a move to Kamloops for the fall semester but decided to stay in P.G., where he'll be starting hockey next month playing centre for a midget house league team. He plans to spend one week per month in Kamloops playing indoor tennis in the winter months to keep his skills sharp, but doesn't foresee making a permanent move until his college days begin.
"I was thinking about going to Kamloops for [high] school but we talked to a whole bunch of people who have scholarships and they all say they get burned out for playing too much," said Kiland. "So if I stay here I can still play hockey and I can still go down there a week every month and I'll keep up my tennis and stay at the level I should be. My No. 1 thing is to try to get a scholarship."
With 15 tournaments already behind him, he's heading to the Salmon Arm Open this weekend. Kiland will end the season indoors, teaming up with Condon in November at the Singh-Dalin men's doubles tournament in Kamloops.
