DLN SPRING PREVIEWS: Still-reigning state champ Great Valley joins rest of Ches-Mont in return to tennis court

Chester County high school boys’ tennis squads, thankfully back in action after COVID-19 cancelled the spring 2020 season, are starting to round into form as the 2021 campaign began in mid-March.

Here’s an early-season look at how the Ches-Mont League high school boys’ tennis teams shape up this spring:

Avon Grove

The Red Devils has 10 returning seniors on its roster this spring.

Red Devil junior captain Joe Yarbrough, in his third year at first singles, has lost only two games in his first two matches this season.

At second singles, senior Ben Nelson is in his fourth year as a Red Devil singles player. In his first two matches of the season, Nelson won both matches, 6-0, 6-0.

Bishop Shanahan

The Eagles are led this spring by the solid play and leadership of senior co-captains Ryan Riotto at first singles, and Mike Hegarty at first doubles.

Downingtown East

“We’ll be looking for a strong showing from our senior leadership,” said D-East coach Chris Waychunas.

The Cougars will be led by seniors Abhinav Pillai, Ashwin Murali, Sid Bulusu, Rohit Krishnan, Nikhil Alex and Srikar Bhumireddy.

“They’re ready to compete and provide solid tutelage to their younger teammates,” said Waychunas.

Downingtown West

The Whippets, who won Ches-Mont National Division titles in 2018 and 2019, will be led by senior Tarush Nallathambi at first singles. Last spring, he got in two matches at first singles before the COVID pandemic hit. In 2018 and 2019, he anchored the Whippets’ first doubles team.

“Tarush’s leadership and dedication to the game are outstanding, and important because we had numerous seniors decide not to come out for the team this spring,” said D-West head coach Justin DePietropaolo. “He is a strong player that has big groundstrokes, but also has good feel at the net due to his years on the doubles court.”

Great Valley

The Patriots, who won the PIAA Class 3A team state championship in 2019, are in a rebuilding year, having lost six of their top seven players to graduation last spring. Great Valley is off to a 2-1 start this spring (as of March 22), led by Steve Coelho at first singles, who had been battling shoulder problems. Coelho is the lone holdover from Great Valley’s 2019 state championship team. “If Steve stays healthy, he should have a good season,” said Great Valley head coach Paul Waltz. “It will be a year of learning. We have a couple of young players who could have used last year to get some experience. It will be an interesting but fun year.”

Kennett

The Blue Demons, who are off to a 1-1 start (as of March 22), have two standouts in junior Logan Piercy at first singles and junior Cade Verrico at second singles, and a promising sophomore coming on in Ethan Canter.

Oxford

“We have a fairly inexperienced team this year, but all of our players have been working hard at improving on their fundamentals,” said Oxford head coach Justin Hostetter.

Unionville

The Longhorns are a young squad, with one senior, five juniors and five sophomores as their top 11 players.

“We lost several seniors last year, some of which were part of the team that won States in 2018,” said Unionville head coach Jimmy O’Rourke. “It was unfortunate that they couldn’t have their senior season since I think that team would have gone very far in the playoffs. This year, while we are young we are still hungry. We have some high level players on our team that are looking to keep Unionville amongst the top teams in District 1.”

The Longhorns opened their 2021 season defeating Downingtown West and losing to perennial powerhouse Conestoga.

Unionville’s singles lineup features junior Andrew Poprik, sophomore Matt Farrell and sophomore Jack Barrickman.

The Longhorns’ doubles teams are senior Will Poprik and sophomore Nate Butler; junior Colin Keenan and sophomore Ryan Megill; junior Jay Param and sophomore Austin Krautzel; and junior Milan Jain and junior Arnab Sircar.

West Chester Henderson

Warrior head coach Peter Sok noted, “We are fairly young and inexperienced in certain positions. We have two juniors and a senior that will hopefully play singles for us this season.”

Those players are senior Andrew Urzillo, a four-year starter; and juniors Aidan Asmus and Ethan Chheda, both third-year players.

“Andrew is a team player who contributes positively to the team mission: to play hard and work to his fullest potential – he is organized and reliable,” said Sok. “Aidan and Ethan played several singles matches for us two years ago, and have worked extremely hard to maximize their skills, they are both team players and have made such a great deal of improvement with their game.

“Our doubles lineup consists of all new players. We hope to be competitive in our league.”

West Chester Rustin

The Golden Knights have a solid singles lineup, with freshman Rowan Degnan at first singles, junior Sam Page at second singles and freshman Jack Benedetto at third singles.

Here’s a look at how the other Chester County high school boys’ tennis teams shape up this spring:

Conestoga

The Pioneers, who finished 16-4 and placed third in the District 1 Class AAA team championships, have a solid singles lineup this spring, led by senior captain Peter Auslander at first singles. Two years ago, as a sophomore, Auslander received second team All-Central League honors. Sophomores Justin Xu and Aaron Sun, are at second singles and third singles, respectively.

Devon Prep

The Tide are led by junior Mitchell Bramlage at first singles – in 2019, as a freshman, he was the Catholic League’s Most Valuable Player, posted an undefeated regular season record, and finished second in the PIAA 2A state singles championship.

“We’re excited for Mitchell to take the court this spring,” said Devon Prep head coach Lauren George. “It has been two years since we’ve seen Mitchell compete in the Catholic League, and this year he will be leading a team of 10 seniors as we hope to compete at the top of the league. Seniors Ryan Bill and Jack George are very seasoned singles competitors that will also help carry the team towards success.”

At first doubles will be seniors Ethan Skorup and Colin McCusker.

“Ethan and Colin led our team in offseason workouts over the past two years,” said George. “They are close friends outside of school. We think their hard work and chemistry will help us in that spot throughout the entire season. Our starting second doubles duo of seniors Matt Egan and Pat Dean have elevated their game to compete in the varsity arena and are expected to perform very well. Overall, we are fortunate to have a very mature and skilled team that has great synergy. We look forward to having a fantasy season.”

Malvern Prep

The Friars are led by freshman Hayden Fisher at first singles.

“Hayden is a complete tennis player with years of tournament experience,” said Malvern Prep head coach Anthony DeCecco. “I coached him as a junior in multiple USTA Team competitions.”

Second singles will be manned by junior Christian Hopkins.

“Christian is very skilled and has a great attitude,” said DeCecco.

The third singles spot is held by senior captain Alex Vu.

“Alex is mentally strong and grinds out every point,” said DeCecco.

The Malvern coach noted, “The rest of our squad is very young – mostly freshmen.”