Boys' Tennis Fights Through Injuries

Despite the plague of injuries that struck its players, the boys’ varsity A tennis team dominated their opponents and maintained a winning record of 8-4.“The injuries to Charlie and Paul made it dif cult in a lot of ways, but especially in terms of doubles as our regular #2 and #3 teams were not able to practice for much of the season,” head coach Tony Greene said, referring to the shoulder and ankle injuries of fourth-seeded upper Charlie Boyd and the back injuries offth-seeded upper Paul Lee. “Early in the season, we were a team with great depth, but the injuries hurt our lineup and we were not as strong at #5 and #6 as we might have been.”The rest of the players on varsity A and some players from varsity B stepped up to compensate for the losses. “Those who were healthy on the team played hard, and our in- jured players competed as best as they could when they returned to the court,” senior co- captain Kelvin Lee said. “We would de nitely have been a much stronger team without the injuries, but we can still be very proud of the season we had.”First-seeded lower Kenny Tao was se- lected as MVP this season for his extraordinary talent and leadership. “Kenny Tao is the best player ever to play at Exeter,” Greene said. “Kenny was undefeated at #1 singles and never lost more than three games in a single set. He and Kelvin were also undefeated at #1 doubles.”Prep Rex Tercek also praised Tao. “Kenny has been our number one for two years, and he has never failed to help lead the team to victory with tough wins over very dif cult opponents,” Tercek said. “Even with an injury, he would play as tenaciously as possible every point.”The top of the lineup was in great form all season. With Tao and Lee on top, the top two rarely lost and kept up a reliable stream of wins in both singles and doubles.“Kelvin also had a great season at second singles,” Greene said. “Even though he had shoulder problems that plagued him all year, he came through with a number of big wins and was 7-2, not counting two matches in which he was leading before being forced to retire,” Greene said.Kelvin Lee believed that the consistency of the team as a whole was the key factor to the team’s winning record this season. He mentioned a victory against St. John’s Prep, a team Big Red had not defeated since 2010, as one of the highlights of this year.“Overall, we had a fruitful and fun- lled season. The many road trips, thrilling tie breakers and laughs made this season one to remember,” he said. “With the departure of our top three players, next year's team will certainly have to make adjustments. I am very con dent, however, that they will be able to succeed if they put in the time and effort.” These holes will include Tao, who will take next year off from Exeter to focus on tennis.Paul Lee added that a signi cant factor to the squad’s good chemistry this year was the experience of playing together in previous years. “It helped that six of us were return- ers, so we already knew where we were as a team before the season began, and once the season started, we were able to focus on our chemistry.”He also praised the leadership of co- captains Kelvin Lee and Henry Cilek in this team development. “Both of the captains were great in leading us day in and day out, and it will be harder to nd guys who care more about the program,” he said.Tercek agreed. “I enjoyed having Kelvin and Henry as our captains. I always looked forward to their fun but serious pre-game talks, and they did a good job cheering for the whole team, no matter what the score.”Tercek added that Greene’s leadership as a coach motivated the players and played an equally important role in the team’s success. “Coach Greene always did a great job lead- ing practice, and gave us smart strategies for winning our matches,” Tercek said. “I also must commend him for his sportsmanship. He

never stooped so low as to stack our doubles and singles ladder, or make obnoxious cheers during matches, unlike some coaches from other schools.”Boyd and upper Nikhil Raman will be leading the team as captains next season. “I am honored to be selected as captain for next year,” Boyd said. “I fondly remember my captains from my past three years on the team, and they were my role models. I am excited to nally have an opportunity to step into their shoes, and I hope that I will have much of the same effect on next year’s players as my captains had on me.”Boyd believes that he and Raman would be complementary to each other in leading the team together. “Nikhil is more of a moral compass and I am more of a kickstart,” he said. “Nikhil is very devoted, shows how much he cares about the team, and is a player who leads by example on the court. He does not need to say anything; everyone understands how hard he works. On the other hand, I am more vocal. I will stand up and say something, and I will be the person who will try to amp up the team, although I will also play my best out on the courts and show my devotion to the team.”Kelvin Lee, who served the as team captain for the past two seasons, re ected on his four years playing for the varsity A team. “Tennis has been such an integral part of my Exeter experience, and I will miss the team very much,” he said. “I would like to thank all of my teammates from each year and thank Coach Greene for his dedication to the team and its players.”