Boys’ Tennis Falls Short to Loomis
This past Saturday, the boys’ varsity tennis A-team traveled to Windsor, Connecticut to take on the Loomis Chaffee School. This was their third match of the season, and despite having a strong roster this year, they fell short. The final score tallied 2-5 L with a valiant effort coming from Big Red. Loomis won the doubles, scoring two points to Exeter’s one. However, seniors Ryan Nguy and Michael Chen won their singles matches.
“We definitely needed to work on keeping our shots consistent ... We overhit a lot of the time, which made winning games much harder.”
This was the boys’ third game so far with ten left in the season, giving the team time to come back stronger after this loss. As it is early in the season, the boys are still trying to find their stride and put more wins on the board.
Nguy emphasized that the A-team hasn’t received any new players. However, Nguy is confident in his teammates’ abilities to step up and hone their skills. He added, “The team is strong this year and has the capability of beating every other school in the division. All we need to do now is show up to our games and deliver.”
Nguy believes in the competence of his team, saying, “In the end, it just came down to who was playing better that day, but we definitely have the skill and drive to improve and do better next time.”
Breaking down the specifics, it seemed that the team lacked consistency throughout its matches, which ultimately led to their defeat. “We definitely needed to work on keeping our shots consistent,” Nguy said. “We overhit a lot of the time, which made winning games much harder.”
Despite some techinical shortcomings, upper Frederick Wehlen praised his captain, “Ryan stood out for sure this past match. He always plays his best and keeps the team positive,” Wehlen said.
Before this well-played match against Loomis Chaffee, the varsity A-team had only played two other matches. In their season opener, the boys destroyed St. Paul’s 6-1. Unfortunately, last Wednesday they could not come up with a win against a strong Groton School, losing 1-6.
Looking ahead in the season, Exeter’s next matchup will be away in Wallingford, Connecticut at Choate Rosemary Hall. According to Nguy, Choate’s team is “very strong this year,” and he anticipates a need to strengthen practice rigor. “We [will] need to be very prepared going into our matches,” Nguy said.
Senior and co-captain, Pedro Repsold De Sanson, remained hopeful and said, “Despite our loss, I do feel as though we will pick it back up in our next matches. Everyone is willing to work hard during practice and go all out against Choate.”
This year, Big Red is led by a strong core group of seniors with chemistry that has been established over multiple seasons, a great asset for matches to come. Aside from matches against other schools, the varsity A-team also has two tournaments to look forward to. The New England Team Tournament will take place May 5, followed by the New England Individual Tournament on May 26. Wehlen remained optimistic and determined and added, “I’m definitely looking forward to some difficult matches this season to challenge us and keep us on our toes.”