Boys' Tennis Sweeps Tabor

Boys’ varsity A tennis shut Tabor out by a score of 7-0 on Saturday, rebounding superbly from a disappointing 1-6 loss to Andover last Wednesday.Players described Tabor as one of the weaker teams that the boys have faced this season, and the squad attributed the shutout win to “[remaining] focused and energetic,” in the words of senior co-captain Kelvin Lee.Prep Rex Tercek, who played as #4 on Saturday due to the large number of injured players sitting out, gave credit to Tabor’s team for putting up a tough match.  “Although the score didn't show it, there were many close matches and even one that went to a third set,” Tercek said. “I think our overall experience as a team led to this victory. We played pretty well, and although there were a few shaky moments and many players were injured, we figured out how to win and we executed.”Teammates praised the efforts of first-seeded Kenny Tao and second-seeded Kelvin Lee for playing through wrist and shoulder injuries, respectively. “Kenny and Kelvin worked hard and persevered and came out with solid wins, both in singles and doubles, and it was very impressive how they were able to fight through the pain and record important victories,” Tercek said.Three players in the usual Varsity A lineup, uppers Charlie Boyd and Paul Lee as well as senior co-captain Henry Cilek, were out from Saturday’s match with injuries and illnesses.  Boyd has been out with an ankle injury for a month, and Lee has been on and off the court for the last two weeks.  Cilek missed the match due to sickness. In order to fill the three vacant spots, Tercek, senior Will Yu and upper Pat Sukhum stepped up.For Sukhum, who played as #6 on Saturday, the match against Tabor was his first varsity A match and win of his tennis career at Exeter. Sukhum was pleased with his performance on Saturday. “The pressure to win was much higher, but it felt great to play alongside players on the A team, and even greater to win,” Sukhum said.The latter half of the season will be more of a challenge than the first half for Exeter’s team, with tougher opponents and New England Championships coming up.  “We only have a couple of weeks until the New England Championships, so we really need to practice hard and stay focused for our upcoming matches against strong teams,” Kelvin Lee said.Tercek agreed that Exeter’s team would be put to the test in future matches. “The past few matches have not been all too difficult, but our injured team will really be tested in future matches like Deerfield,” he said. “One thing is that we need to try and stay injury-free. I know it is hard, but we have to stay in good shape for important matches, such as those at New England’s.”