Exeter a division favorite again

Rick Ulrich, the head coach of the Exeter Township High School boys’ tennis team, believes the 2014 squad is one of the strongest teams in program history. That’s saying something, considering the team has won the division title the last three seasons, with a combined league record of 24-2.

The team will return their number one and two singles players (Nolan Perugini and Jonah Buczewski), as well as the number four singles player, Logan Gettis.

In addition, Jeff Purdoch will fill the number five slot, coming back after sitting out last season due to an injury.

Todd Weiner will be the new face on the team, but will be a strong number three player.

Perugini, a senior, is coming off a season in which he was undefeated in the regular season, making it to the semifinals in the county, and finishing third in District 3.

In the offseason, Perugini has been working hard, competing in as many tournaments as he could to improve his game. He has done that, and will once again be one of the top players in the league.

Buczewski is a sophomore, but is coming off a freshman season in which he was undefeated in the league season. He topped off a fine season by pairing up with senior Ryan Lessig to place fourth in the District 3 Doubles Tournament.

Gettis, a senior this year, was also undefeated in league play last year. He won the County Flight 4 Championship and will obviously be a favorite to repeat again this year.

“He will be a very tough player in the number four slot, and also as a doubles player,’ said Ulrich.

Weiner is a freshman, but has shown his coach that he is ready to take over the number four slot right away. It will be interesting to see how he develops as the season goes on.

“Our singles are solid, so we need to concentrate on the doubles teams for the post season tournaments,’ said Ulrich.

The Eagles are definitely a strong favorite to make it four division titles in a row. The questions is, can they defeat powerhouse Wyomissing in the championship game?

Of course the first step is to get there. This is a team with the ability to do just that. After that, only time will tell.