2022 Mercury Boys Tennis Previews

Boyertown

Coach: Mark Schwegler, first season.

Last year’s record: 5-6 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Jacob Boughter, Sr., doubles; Luke Brisbois, Jr., doubles.

Outlook: Schwegler takes over the program from David Burkert, who headed it for 25 years. … Brayden Burkhardt, Nick Gehringer and Shane Gabriel made up the Bears’ singles bracket in their PAC opener with Owen J. Roberts. … “Our returning players have improved markedly since last year,” Schwegler said, “and we have many new players this year that we are happy to have on our team. We are looking forward to the season.”

Daniel Boone

Coach: Ryan Burke, third season.

Last year’s record: 5-3 Berks League, 12-4 overall.

Players to watch: David Kim, Sr., singles; Sam Shank, Evan Miller.

Outlook: The Blazers return all their starters from the 2021 season. … Sam Shank is currently the program leader in wins. Owen Blume and Jared Miller are program leaders in doubles wins. … Kim comes into the season as a four-year starter. … “This combination of rising underclassmen stars and experienced veterans are excited to build off the best season in program history and be true contenders in Berks County,” Burke said. 

Hill School

Methacton

Coach: Jill Walker, 13th season.

Last year’s record: 10-2 Pioneer Athletic Conference, 13-3 overall.

Players to watch: Dylan Kuang, Sr., doubles; Drew Santmann, Sr., doubles; Dylan Wen, Fr., singles; Ethan O’Brien, Jr., singles; Akash Suresh, So., doubles; Karun Jayarum, Fr., doubles; Dylan Wen, Fr., singles; Nolan N’Goran, singles.

Outlook: The Warriors will have a whole new crew in the singles bracket: Wen in the first slot, O’Brien at second and N’Goran — he comes to Fairview Village by way of France — at third. … The doubles bracket will have Jayarum partnered with Suresh at first doubles, with Kuang and Santmann at second doubles. The remaining doubles will be filled by  Liam Evans, Arnav Tiwari, Avery Barber and Gavin Jacobs. … “We have had one of the strongest crew of newcomers to come out for tennis this season that we have had for awhile,” Walker said, “and some of them will be finding themselves in the varsity lineup this season.”

Norristown

Coach: Bill McKown, ninth season.

Last year’s record: 0-11 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Nijel Parks, Jr., singles; Dane Crook, Jr., singles.

Outlook: Nijel Parks, who will play first singles, is developing a strong game behind a big serve. Dane Crook, another junior occupying the second singles position, possesses a slice backhand capable of giving opponents trouble. … “23 players on the team this year,” McKown said. “Most are beginners playing for the first time. Interest in tennis is high, and the team will get better as the season progresses.”

Owen J. Roberts

Coach: Jerry Styer, 23rd season.

Last year’s record: 6-5 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Blake Brennan, Sr., singles/doubles; Will Cano, Sr., single/doubles; Seth Greist, Sr., doubles; Collin Hannah, Sr., doubles; Janson Loscig, Sr., doubles; Teagan Millar, Sr., doubles; Akash Prabu, Sr., doubles; Liam Sanders, Sr., doubles; Matthew Taylor, Sr., doubles; Joey Kish, Jr., doubles; Owen Lake, So., doubles; Talan Nguyen, So., first singles; Jack Sawicki, So., singles/doubles.

Outlook: Nguyen, second team All-PAC at second singles in 2021, is slated to play at first singles this spring. … Sawicki, runner-up at the 2021 PAC Singles Championships, was an Honorable Mention pick at first singles. … The Wildcats opened the season with a 6-1 victory over Boyertown. Nguyen, Sawicki and Lake led the way with their sweep of the singles bracket.

Perkiomen School

Coach: Maddy Glinski, first season.

Last year’s record: N/A

Players to watch: Liam Fell, Sr.; Brandon Legris, Sr.; Zachasry Kivelowitz, Jr.; Arun Chinnakaruppan, So.; Joey Kelly, So.;

Outlook: Glinski takes over the program from Dave Pandl, who headed it the past four years. … Fell, Legris, Kivelowitz, Chinnakaruppan and Kelly all return to the Panthers’ program as key performers in 2021. … “These boys have all been playing for several years and are surprising even each other with the power and skill they bring to the court,” Glinski said. “I have never seen more intense matches than when these kids play against each other for top position. Their speed and movement on the court is something I have never seen before. I have high hopes for the season as Mr. Wilson, our new assistant coach, Ms. Jessica Frinckwicz, and myself fine tune their skills for the upcoming matches.”

Perkiomen Valley

Coach: Derek Pongras, sixth season.

Last year’s record: 9-2 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Evan Bolton, singles; Ricardo Spadea, singles; Henry Ye, singles.

Outlook: Bolton, Spadea and Ye made up the Vikings’ singles bracket in their season opener with Pottstown. They gave up just two games in the 7-0 sweep. … “The whole team has reshuffled from last year,” Pongras said. “Everyone is playing in a new spot on the ladder. We have had a couple of JV players really improve and move into the varsity lineup. We are looking forward to seeing how we stack up with the new ladder. Our players are all taking on new, more challenging, responsibilities. It will be fun to see how they handle the new challenge.”

Phoenixville

Coach: Ricardo Saad, fourth season.

Last year’s record: 10-0 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Leo Edmonds-Doberenz, singles; David N’guyen, singles; Zach Paat, singles.

Outlook: Paat, Edmonds-Doberenz and N’guyen will make up the Phantoms’ single bracket in the first through third slots, respectively. … “Phoenixville lost all its varsity players from its PAC-10 league champion,” Saad said. “Now we are all JV level playing varsity. The team also has an unusual reduced number of players.”

Pope John Paul II

Coaches: Sue McDonough, third season.

Last year’s record: 4-7 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Aidan McCarel, So., singles; Andres Lugo, Fr., doubles.

Outlook: McCarel is slated to play at second singles, and Lugo at fourth doubles. … Chris Cossa and Michael Fiore were at first and third singles, respectively, when the Golden Panthers opened their season against Holy Ghost Prep and Upper Merion. … “PJP boys are a very young team this year, with very little experience on the court overall.” McDonough said. “These guys play with a lot of heart and have great work ethics, so we hope to be more and more competitive as the season goes on.”

Pottsgrove

Coach: Gus Tellis, 22nd season.

Last year’s record: 7-4 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Michael Krueger, Sr., singles; Wyatt Lear, Sr., singles; Troy Watts, Sr., singles.

Outlook: Watts, Lear and Krueger are all four year starters and will comprise the Falcons’ singles bracket. … Lear and Watts, fifth seeds for Pottsgrove, were runners-up in the 2021 PAC Doubles Championship. They won over Perkiomen Valley’s top-seeded entry in three sets. … “These boys have worked very hard at improving their games,” Tellis said, “and are anxious to take on the Pioneer Conference teams. The rest of our lineup is extremely new at playing varsity. They are eager to learn and excited about what this tennis season will play out as, learning on the fly, and enjoying this great game of tennis.”

Pottstown

Coach: Sean McNamara, fourth season.

Last year’s record: 1-9 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Xavier Francis Williams, Sr., singles; Darren Groff, Sr., singles; James Ryder, Sr., singles.

Outlook: Williams, Groff and Ryder made up the Trojans’ singles bracket in their season-opening match with Perkiomen Valley. They were in the first through third spots, respectively. … Meliki Glover and Austin Sundstrom were Pottstown’s first-doubles pairing against PV. Lucious Long and Kyle Chaney were at second doubles, Jayden Pray and Chris Fuentes at third doubles and Greg Bechtel and Omar Alsoui at fourth doubles.

Spring-Ford

Coach: John Brennan, 19th season.

Last year’s record: 9-2 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Jacob Collier, Sr., doubles; Arnav Gupta, Sr.; Jake Kolevas, Sr., doubles; Sean Lambert, Sr., doubles; Cameron Moore, Sr., singles; Navein Suresh, Sr., singles; Ethan Shakour, Sr,, doubles; Sahil Desai, Jr.; Arnav Pallem, Jr., doubles; Yash Rohera, Jr.,  doubles; Neng Jian, So., doubles; Lachlan Stevens, So., doubles.

Outlook: The Rams’ roster is bolstered by the addition of freshman Henry Damiani, who debuted at third singles in their season opener with Pottsgrove. … Cameron Moore is a two-way defending PAC champion, winning the 2021 singles competition and teaming with the graduated Joshua Pergine for the doubles title. … “Spring-Ford is looking to remain in the hunt for a PAC championship,” Brennan said. “We do have a good amount of seniors in the lineup, but the movement in the lineup from last year to this year will incur some growing pains. Our schedule also involves some the best teams in District 1 for our competition this year. Harriton, Radnor, Holy Ghost Prep, Unionville and Downingtown East our some of our non-league competition this year. Hopefully, this team continues to grow and improve with every day or practice and match we play.”

Upper Merion

Coach: Eric Bowe, 13th season.

Last year’s record: 2-9 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Dominick Doan, So., doubles; Gabe Giammarco, So., doubles; Josiah Kotwright, So., singles. 

Outlook: “We have a young but talented bunch this year,” Bowe said. “Josiah Kotwright (first singles) just moved to the area from New York and is looking to get his footing in the Pioneer Athletic Conference. His campaign is already off to a great start as he won his first league match already.  We also have a good pairing at first doubles this year with Gabe Giammarco and Dominick Doan. They are both sophomores and have also started off their season with a win. Our goal this season is to improve upon our 2-9 record last year. We have a team goal of winning four matches and double our win production from last year.  With a 1-0 start, we are already well on our way.”

Upper Perkiomen

Coach: John Williamson, 13th season.

Last year’s record: 3-8 Pioneer Athletic Conference.

Players to watch: Enoc Padilla, Sr., singles; Nick Pence, Sr., singles; Evan Ratushny, Sr., singles; Kyle Schmoyer, Sr., doubles; Dakota Williams, Sr., doubles.

Outlook: “The team is looking to improve upon last year’s record, with most of our varsity team returning,” Williamson said. “The guys have been working hard in practice and are ready to compete.”