By Amy Kuem & Doug Boyle
Staff Writers
The boys’ tennis team is starting to gain recognition as a prominent sport at Westford Academy. The boys’ team may not have the best record, but it is clear that some of the athletes are on their way to becoming some of the greatest players in Westford history.
Last season, for team play, they made it to the semifinals of the North Division in the state tournament, but unfortunately were knocked out by Lexington High School. This year the Ghosts hope they can match their efforts and maybe even surpass them. Their record so far is seven wins and three losses.
Seniors Corey Yu and Jamison Bigham have yet to lose a match this year. These two individuals have dominated singles in both the Dual County League and the state of Massachusetts. Both have high expections for their last season in a Grey Ghost uniform.
“Corey, my doubles partner, and I have been playing together for a long time,” said Bigham. “We have worked really hard so that we can have the most successful year possible. We want to end our careers on a good note.”
The team is led by captains Bigham, Kevin Chen, Corey Yu, Tyler Kowalczik, Alex Bonanno, and Victor Braescu. They are all seniors and work together to lead the team to victory. The team is coached by Peter Paltsios.
The seniors, however, are not the only ones tearing up the court. The Colomb twins Christian and Michael both made the Varsity team this year as freshmen. Christian plays first singles for the Ghosts after successfully defeating his fellow teammates for the top position.
This competitive sport takes a lot of work, both during and even before the season.
“I definitely do a lot of training to get myself really confident before tryouts. The lineup is really dictated within the first couple days of practices so if you perform really well then, you’ll play in a good spot. I try and get out there before the season and play,” said Bigham.
With all this hard work, it can be hard to find time for balancing friends and schoolwork.
“For my first three years on the team, it was a huge challenge and burden balancing schoolwork, practices, and games; sometimes not coming home until 8:00. But because I’m a senior this year and I’m doing a senior project, balancing my time has become a lot more manageable this season,” said Yu.
All together, these skilled individuals come together to form a strong foundation for the team. However, skill is not the only necessity in the game of tennis.
Each teammate is responsible for cheering each on for every set, whether it be a varsity or junior varsity.
“We stay together as a team by cheering and encouraging each other during and after we finish our own individual matches,” said Yu.
This fundamental part of team spirit, keeps the team together, as tennis is a very mental sport. The psychological preparation is equally, if not more, important as the physical exersice itself.
“I stay mentally prepared by getting hyped up. I motivate my teammates,” said freshman JV player Sai Balabhadrapatruni.
“You try and build each other up,” said Bigham. “If one person’s doing well, they can use that to encourage others and build up the team spirit. Since only seven of us play at a time, there’s 23 of us watching. You really want to give them support. I really tell them to be involved.”
This positive attitude of teamwork could a play a great part in the overall team’s success this season. Their next game is against Boston Latin on Wednesday, May 8
