Perfect, undefeated, and high-flying – these best describe Boys Tennis’s start to this season. The Rebels are off to a fast 4-0 start with several decisive victories over formidable opponents: Catholic Memorial, Milton, Braintree and Natick. With their great start being the best among all spring sports teams this season, Boys Tennis is excited to ride this success through the rest of the year.
Several factors have contributed to this exceptional start for the Rebels. First, the doubles combinations of seniors Alex Tourene-Brandon Chin and seniors Zach Rogers-Caleb Cofsky have simply been too much for opposing teams to handle. These players experience is evident when they play against other opponents as they are able to overwhelm the opposition or have the knowledge (from playing for four years) to know how to handle certain pressure situations, according to senior Brandon Chin: “we have been playing long enough to know how to win these matches and get the most out of ourselves.” He is has good reason to be right: doubles is yet to lose a match so far this season – an impressive feat for these players individually.
In singles, junior Drew Morrier, senior Alex Frasier, and sophomore Michael Bloom have held their own against the top opponents of the other teams. Varsity tennis player since freshman year, Morrier credits his personal success to improvement and familiarity with the speed of the game: “I feel like I have improved more from sophomore year to junior year than I did from freshman year to sophomore year, and that feels good.” Similarly, Morrier—like Chin—hints the success he and the team have had so far is not just skill but also experience. He said, “We have the talent, but having so many upperclassmen doesn’t hurt either.”
Depth has also proved pivotal for Boys Tennis. This season around 30 kids are on the team, and so therefore, if a top player goes down or has an injury, another player can fill in somewhere else and help out. This depth was evident in the second match of the season against Milton. Three senior varsity starters were out that day and other players had to fill in and take their place. Despite their absence, Walpole still won the meet 5-0, revealing that the Rebels can win in many different ways if necessary and erasing any doubts that this year’s seniors have to be the ones to carry the burden of victory.
Boys Tennis has a swagger right now that will not be easy for an opposing opponent to take away. This team is soaring and coming up are a few stiff tests against teams such as Wellesley and Framingham. A tennis juggernaut that has given Walpole problems in the past, Wellesley is always a really tough match. Nevertheless, Boys Tennis currently has great confidence; and as of yet, no one can beat them.
