After a tremendous season in Division Two last year, the boys tennis team advanced into Division One this year, where they exceeded expectations and finished very well.
The team completed their season with an 8-4 record, a statistic that ranked them fifth in the county. The case can be made that the team had to face leadership issues, seeing as the team only returned two seniors, and had their best two singles players as sophomores. That being said, an 8-4 record is something to be proud of.
The team leapt to a great start, sweeping their first two matches 7-0 each against Northwood and Einstein.
Unable to carry that momentum the team slumped, going 2-2 in the next four games losing to Blair and Whitman.
The team was able to bounce back against Blake winning 5-2 at home.
Throughout the season, in the games listed especially, the team was carried by its youth, with its top three singles players being underclassmen: sophomores Jordan Krasner and Wojtek Bieganski, and freshman Jamie Schmidt.
Along with being a sophomore Krasner has faced many players who are older, bigger (Krasner is a mere 5″6′), stronger, and more experienced than him. That being said, he is still gaining valuable experience that will help him when he is a senior.
“[Overall this season was] spectacular, an everlasting journey,” said Krasner.
Schmidt has represented the team very well at the three singles position.The team voted him as their MVP, with Schmidt being one of the team’s most valuable assets.
After that strong showing, the team went 4-2 to close out their season.
They were swept 0-7 by Churchill, as the opposing Bulldogs went on to finish second in the county.
The team then went on a three-game win streak against Northwest, Quince Orchard and Sherwood.
Playing against Northwest and Quince Orchard at home, the team won the matches 5-2 and 7-0, respectively.
They pulled that streak on the road against Sherwood, winning 6-1 on unfamiliar territory.
The team at this point had accumulated a 7-3 record, with only two games left to play: against the best team in the county, Wootton, and Rockville.
They closed out their season in two very lopsided matches, being swept 0-7 by Wootton on senior night and sweeping Rockville 7-0.
*Coach Mike Laukaitis could not be reached for comment.
