Boys' Tennis Beats Deerfield Despite an Early Ending

As the last singles match drew to a close, prep Cameron Gruss tightened his stance and waited for the serve. With this final point, the boys’ varsity tennis squad took home a 4-2 home victory against Deerfield Academy.

Unfortunately, due to time restraints and the long distance between the two schools, Deerfield was forced to leave before the two teams completed all of their matches. Nevertheless, Exeter added another win to their incredible record, standing at 7 - 2.

Many reasons contributed to the well-deserved Exeter victory. A huge part of the win was due to the impressive play of the two preps on the team, Cameron Gruss and Brian Niguidula.

Upper Moises Escobar praised them for their great performances. "Cameron and Brian managed to pull through for the team, winning their matches comfortably," Escobar said.

“Brian stood out a lot in the matches against Deerfield,” Gruss added. “He was playing extremely well against a tough opponent and was able to pull off the win.”

Another cause for the win was the confidence that resonated throughout all the matches. After winning the doubles point, the team headed into the singles with a great amount of confidence.

“I'm glad we were able to pull through in the doubles matches,” Escobar said. “It's great to be able to start off the singles with the point under our belts; it gives us great self confidence heading into the singles.”

In addition to the confidence, intensity and composure played a big part in the win.

“The team was consistent, focused and kept their composure during tight moments,” upper Nick Diao said. “We also demonstrated great intensity through the matches.”

The great performances in the doubles and singles matches were also helped by the favorable weather. With the ball moving very quickly due to the nice weather, the team was able to play to their full potential and finish off Deerfield in a hard fought match.

“The weather conditions were a little groggy but it was very warm. It was really nice to play outside because the ball was moving quickly,” Escobar said. “This helped us pull away in the matches.”

Coming off a disappointing loss against Milton Academy, the team was able to regroup and pull off a redemption victory. But even with the victory, the players are always looking for what they can improve on for the remaining matches of the season.

“I didn't start too well, and I hope that next week, with a good start, I'll be able to win my match,” Escobar said.

Gruss seemed to have the opposite problem of Escobar. Even though in the end, he was able to win, Gruss believes that he could’ve performed at a higher level in the middle sets. “I played very well in the first set. But midway through the second set, I slowed down,” he said. “Eventually I was able to finish off the match with a win.”

Diao found that the team’s point to point focus was a little bit lacking.

Overall, the boys’ varsity tennis team played extremely well in the matches, and hope to continue this level of play for the remainder of the season.

Gruss said, “I thought the entire team played really well. It was a good day for the team in general.”