By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury — Veteran talent gets the job done in competitive tennis, but this season an infusion of youth combined with senior experience is having a huge impact on the St. John’s High varsity tennis team.
“We have seven seniors and six freshmen so that’s quite a difference there but a lot of those freshmen can play and are on the cusp of being our future but also our present in a sense,” said 16-year head coach Ed Hippert, who is assisted by brother Jerry Hippert. “But we try to bring them in a little slowly and not overwhelm them. I’m really enjoying this team because of the attitude and the way the older kids have been bringing the younger ones along.”
“We have a lot of team chemistry. We only lost two kids from last year and a lot of these younger guys are stepping into big roles,” added senior co-captain Brendan Gallagher, who is heading to Elon University in North Carolina in the fall where he hopes to continue with tennis. “I think with the freshmen talent and the senior leadership, we’ve been able to be pretty successful this year. The balance between the grades has made this a solid team.”
Big wins versus Hopedale, Xaverian, Auburn, and others have catapulted the Pioneers (10-7) into a playoff berth once more. A season ago, the team advanced to the District 1 Central Mass. finals before being ousted by perennial powerhouse Westborough.
“I’ve been on the team three years now and what I notice most is that we do well when we’re together, “ remarked Pioneer senior Christian Suglia. “When we’re distant with each other, we don’t do as well. I think something with this team is that we’re like a family. Before every match we don’t’ scream or yell or anything like that. I think that’s one thing I have seen in the last two years and I think that’s why this team is much better.”
Hippert’s starting lineup has had some changes from early on but starts with senior captain Gallagher as number one singles. Gallagher is fast, accurate and can get to shots from seemingly any angle. Second singles is in the capable hands of Brian King who is quick, strong and is precise with his shots.
“Our one and two singles have been marvelous for us,” said Ed Hippert. “They’ve competed like crazy for us. Brendan Gallagher and Brian King have given us a lot and beaten a lot of really good players.”
Alex Zhou is steady at the number three slot. Ben Burns and Rucher Chatuivedi have excelled at number one doubles as have second doubles partners Pernay Pherwani and Syon Khosla.
If replacements are needed, there is ample talent to choose from. John Massarelli, Brahim Yatim, Parys Patnaih, Max McGhee, Andrew Fraser, Acsha Gopinathan, Christian Suglia, Matt Oliveira, Alec Mulcahy and Dan Jusseune are all capable of stepping in when called upon.
With but a handful of matches remaining in the season, focus is on staying sharp for the playoffs. The team finishes with all-world Westborough, a team that boasts several state top- ranked players. Not to worry, says Gallagher. Keep consistency and the right attitude and the Pioneers may be in for an extended post-season.
“Each guy has to focus on his own role and get his job done because it is a team sport, but you have to get the individual aspects going too. If each guy sticks to his personal game plan, we should be all set.”