Unionville tennis squad battles wind, sweeps Council Rock North

East Marlborough >> The youthful Unionville High School boys’ tennis team braved the cold temperatures and a gusty northwest wind sweeping the courts Tuesday afternoon, and swept visiting Council Rock North, 7-0.

The Longhorns (5-1 overall, 3-0 Ches-Mont), with two freshmen playing singles, won all seven matches in straight sets.

“It was a matchup of two teams that are usually in the mix [for post-season play], battling the wind and cold, but you’ve gotta find a way [to win],” said Unionville coach Jimmy O’Rourke.

Unionville, the defending Ches-Mont American Division champions, only lost one senior to graduation last year, and O’Rourke noted that 17 new players came out for the team this year, including “one of our most talented freshman classes ever.”

One of those talented freshmen, Andrew Ou, holds down the Longhorns’ first singles spot this season. Tuesday, Ou defeated Alex Liu at first singles, 6-3, 6-1.

“Andrew doesn’t make mistakes, he’s quick and gets to everything, and he’s not afraid – he makes very few unforced errors,” said O’Rourke. “At No. 1 singles, you never get a day off, and I think Andrew will have fewer roller-coaster days than other players.”

Ou said, “I started a little slow today, but I adjusted to the wind. When it’s windy, you want to hit it with more topspin, and get more racquet speed.”

At second singles, Unionville senior captain Andrew Poprik defeated Sebastian Proulx, 6-1, 6-2, improving his record to 5-1. Like the Longhorns, his only loss so far this season was to Dallastown.

“Andrew has a power game, a great backhand, and plays with a lot of heart,” said O’Rourke.

Poprik said, “When it’s windy like this, you can’t get the ball too high, and you try to aim for the middle [to allow for the sideways wind], but you’ve got to stay aggressive.”

At third singles, freshman lefthander Matt Miller defeated Morgan Johnson, 6-1, 6-2, Tuesday. In the pre-season, Miller was slated for the first doubles slot, but for Tuesday he was moved into third singles.

Miller and Ou (and about 10 Unionville players in all) sharpened their games last summer at the Unlimited Tennis Academy in Media.

“I played there every weekday in the summer from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it really helped my game,” said Miller.

Ou said, “Playing [at Unlimited] helped bring me to the next level, made me more consistent.”

Unionville continued its dominance in doubles. At first doubles, the junior duo of Ryan Megill and Nate Butler defeated Will DeMedio and Matteo Licata, 6-3, 6-3; at second doubles, junior captain Matt Farrell and Colin Keenan defeated Vish Thirukallam and Matt Romano, 6-2, 6-2; at third doubles, Jackson Kerr and Thomaz Bonato defeated Ethan Unger and Charlie Dougherty, 6-0, 6-3; and at fourth doubles, Andy Ye and Manny Prem beat Andrew Jin and Drew Cramer, 6-0, 6-0.

On Friday, the Longhorns will face perennial District 1 power Harriton.

“We’re looking to have a great year playing a tough schedule, and looking to go deep into postseason play,” O’Rourke said.