The boys tennis team increased its competitiveness and achieved new goals this year. The team ended its season with a 12-7 record and fifth in the BCSL Division. Having flipped its record from last season (7-12), the team is mainly comprised of seniors.
Assistant Coach Patrck McNamara said the team’s improvement was apparent early in the season.
“…today would match the win total of last year and we still have ten matches left, we have the potential to have one of the best records in a very long time here,” McNamara said ahead of the match against Hamilton West.
Throughout the season however, the team has struggled with recruitment issues.
“I think it’s really difficult at Cinnaminson in the spring to recruit tennis players because we offer many sports for an athlete to play,” McNamara said. “There are five other sports somebody else can choose to play, so it is hard to recruit for sure.”
With this in mind, the tennis team wants to recruit new talent to replace its seven graduating seniors. The team will consist of mostly younger players once the seniors graduate as there are seven seniors and three underclassmen on the team.
McNamara highlights the team’s strong singles players.
“The strength of our team is in our single players, Evan Drew, Colby,” McNamara said. “Evan, Drew, and Colby are really really solid, on most days it’s going to be really hard for a team to beat us in our singles.”
This further complicates the issue as Colby and Evan are both graduating seniors. However, for now the team has focused on overcoming its past weaknesses as its primary goal.
“I think the goals for this season would be to improve on last year’s struggles and then improve on our playoff seeding, to win a playoff match, and improve our division record,” McNamara said. “All those things are so far definitely falling in place.”
While the team has struggled in the past, the success the team has achieved this season is impressive. Junior Drew Harvey says the team has overcome its competition and weaknesses through hard work and practicing every day.
According to the coaches, one aspect the team could still improve upon is gaining experience, especially for its younger players who will lead the team next season.
