BOYS TENNIS

WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars had trouble generating any momentum in their home opener against Horace Mann School. Jeremy Zuidema '02 and James Elsworth '01 put up particularly strong fights in both singles and doubles, but wins in their matches eluded Choate along with the others. "We're capable of performing much better than we did today," said coach Ned Gallagher. "Today's non-league match was helpful in giving our relatively young squad some good experience and motivation heading into New England competition next week, however." Click here for detailed results.

WALLINGFORD, CT--The varsity squad led the way as all three boys' tennis teams vanquished League rival Loomis Chaffee. The Wild Boars did not drop a set en route to the victory. Click here for detailed results.

EXETER, NH--The Choate/Exeter tennis rivalry--dormant for the better part of two decades--was resumed on a pleasant spring afternoon in southern New Hampshire. The quality of the competition was far better than the rather lopsided team score indicates. Click here for detailed results. All three doubles contests went down to the wire, for instance, taking about ninety minutes to complete. And while a couple of the singles matches turned out to be blowouts on the scoreboard, the points and games themselves were all hard-fought. The match of the day was played at #1 singles, wherein Exonian Howard Chu '00 outlasted Andrew Jacobi '01 in a tight third-set tiebreaker, finishing four-and-a-half hours after the start of play. Fourth former Sam Epstein came away with the sole win for the Wild Boars at #6 singles, but the Choate squad enjoyed the fine competition and friendly sporting atmosphere offered by a strong Phillips Exeter team. The day was capped off by a quick stop in Hampton Beach, where Messrs. Goldberg and Van Fleet frolicked in the Atlantic while several of their teammates sampled the local culinary delight: "Fry-Dough." In spite of the 9:30 a.m. departure and 10:15 p.m. return, it was a day well spent.

NORTHFIELD, MA--Choate was far from home for the second time in five days, but this time the players returned to Wallingford with a successful team effort behind them. The match may have been closer than it needed to be, but the win was welcome nonetheless. The Wild Boars swept the doubles and the bottom three singles matches to secure the requisite four points for the victory. Notable individual performances: Andrew Jacobi '00 lost a close three-setter at #1 singles, erasing a 2-5 deficit in the final set before succumbing, while Sam Epstein '02 was flawless at #6, not dropping a game. Click here for detailed results.

PAWLING, NY--The Wild Boars met Founders League rival Trinity-Pawling through the course of an intermittent gentle drizzle in upstate New York and prevailed handily. Click here for detailed results.

WALLINGFORD, CT--The showdown between neighbors Cheshire Academy and Choate Rosemary Hall had all the features of a great tennis match: a vocal core of supporters for both sides, some dominating performances from each of the teams, a bit of doubles drama, and a couple of decisive tiebreaks. When the dust settled, Choate emerged on top, having secured the victory by winning the first four points in play. The heroes of the day were the #1 doubles pairing of captain Stephen Fair '00 and Andrew Jacobi '01, who, after a sluggish start, rallied from 4-7 down in the pro-set to win an incredibly one-sided tiebreak. Since the #2 and #3 doubles had been split by the two schools, this provided both a critical scoring point as well as some valuable momentum for the Wild Boars. Choate quickly posted victories at #4, #5, and #6 singles without much resistance and in the final match of the contest, Jeremy Zuidema '02 rallied from a set down in the #2 singles match to win in an abbreviated third set. Click here for detailed results.

WATERTOWN, CT--Choate cruised by the Rhinos today, sweeping the doubles and dominating all but one of the singles matches in this Founders League contest. Click here for detailed results.

GREENWICH, CT--The Wild Boars posted their fifth consecutive victory with a convincing win over Brunswick. This Bruins squad is a respectable one, too, having narrowly lost (3-4) to a solid Cheshire Academy squad just two days earlier while missing their #2 and #3 players. Once again, the doubles set the tone, as the Choate boys secured the #2 and #3 tilts for the swing point and the momentum. Andrew Jacobi went down to a nationally-ranked player at #1 singles, but scrambled impressively, making his talented opponent fight for points throughout the match. In the #2 position, Jeremy Zuidema fought hard to push the contest into a third set before falling in the gloaming. The rest of the visiting squad won their singles matches fairly comfortably. Click here for detailed results. The Choate team enjoyed a wonderful post-match feast at the Epsteins' home in Darien before heading back to Wallingford and are grateful for the terrific hospitality.

DEERFIELD, MA--In a hotly contested match-up between archrivals, Deerfield prevailed over the Wild Boars before a Parents Weekend crowd in the Emerald City. The Choate team was very much looking forward to this contest, knowing Deerfield would provide its first true test since the Exeter match three weeks before. There are precious few teams with the depth to compete with Choate position by position, and the Big Green has such a squad this year. Although the visitors competed gamely, Deerfield got the matches it needed by securing two of three doubles pro-sets and then taking four of the six singles matches. Choate had its chances in each of the singles contests but could not convert. Experience seemed to carry the day, as the four seniors on the D.A. squad won their matches, while the underclassmen fell to the Choate sophomores. Click here for detailed results.

SIMSBURY, CT--For some reason, Choate/Westminster matches always seem to take a long time and the 2000 meeting was no exception. Playing at the Martlets' impressive new 14-court complex nestled in the woods, the Wild Boars swept the doubles and took four of the six singles, holding off three-set challenges at #3 and #5 to complete the victory. Click here for detailed results.

KENT, CT--With eight away matches among the past nine played, the Choate varsity boys should change their team name from the Wild Boars to the Road Warriors! Fortunately, the squad has gotten used to performing well far from home. The showdown with the Fighting Episcopalians represented a contest between the Founders League's only two undefeated teams. In a match featuring some excellent tennis and fine sportsmanship on both sides of the net, Choate prevailed by a 5-2 margin to keep its perfect streak in League play intact. Click here for detailed results.

WALLINGFORD, CT--The Choate boys were determined to demonstrate their command of doubles at the start of this match and took it to the visiting Wyverns with impressive wins at #2 and #3. The Wild Boars clinched the win with the first three singles matches completed (at #2, #4, and #5). Kingswood took the #6 contest and the remaining two matches were halted heading into third sets. Click here for detailed results.

WALLINGFORD, CT--At the end of a week in which the Wild Boars played four strong teams and prevailed in the first three matches, the fourth contest just slipped from their grasp. "It was clear our guys didn't have much in the tank with so much tennis on top of their schoolwork, AP tests, and such. Nine matches played in the past eighteen days simply took its toll," reported coach Ned Gallagher. That fatigue was evident in the doubles, in which the Choate boys performed nowhere near the standard they had displayed just a day before at the Hunt Tennis Center against Kingswood's strong pairs. The failure to take the doubles point was costly, as Andover unexpectedly took three of the six singles matches. The turning points were at  #3 and #6, where the Choate players dominated their singles opponents at times, but folded in third sets, having failed to close out their matches earlier. Click here for detailed results. "Andover deserved the win today; they competed better than we did in the swing matches. We'll have to regroup for our final two League matches and any tournament play that may await us," observed Gallagher. "Having four days rest before our next tilt is a welcome luxury at this point."

LAKEVILLE, CT--Playing the only other school ever to win a Founders League title in boys' tennis, Choate edged Hotchkiss 4-3 in a hard-fought (if not always elegant) match to clinch at least a share of the 2000 League crown. (A win over Avon in a week's time would lock up sole possession of the title.) The Bearcats competed hard, taking two of the doubles pro-sets and winning two very close singles matches, but the four singles victories by the Wild Boars provided the necessary margin of victory. Click here for detailed results. "We didn't play our best tennis today, but full credit to a hungry Hotchkiss squad for fighting so fiercely. We put together enough good tennis in the right places, along with a bit of luck here and there, to win this one," reported coach Ned Gallagher. "We'll have to perform at a higher level if we hope to advance in the New England team tournament this weekend."

WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars captured their third Founders League championship in four years, securing sole possession of that distinction with a lopsided win over the Winged Beavers. Click here for detailed results. The team enjoyed a post-match celebratory feast at the Patrikis domicile in Hamden, for which coach and teammates alike are grateful. "This was another season in which we seemed to save our best tennis for League play. There were a couple of hearty challenges from other League teams this spring, so this is a meaningful crown," observed coach Ned Gallagher. Choate has won the state title in five of the past nine seasons.

DEERFIELD, MA--An exciting, hard-fought match went Choate's way, 4-3. As at Exeter three weeks ago, the Wild Boars JV had to play on clay, this time to better effect. Once again Choate lost the doubles, but by a smaller margin, as Chad Carta and John Vertefeuille made the come-back of the season (so far!) after falling behind 1-6! The visitors then took the singles 4-2 through superior consistency--an encouraging sign (we hope!).

WEST HARTFORD, CT--It took all the Choate players some time--some more than others--to adjust to the tricky rubberized surface and even trickier light of the K-O indoor facility (a hockey rink in winter), which largely accounts for the slim margin by which the Wild Boars secured the doubles point. As the Choate boys got progressively more used to these conditions, their consistency asserted itself and wore the opposition down, as evidenced by the easy time most singles players had in their second sets. This was a good win, the right experience to have prior to an anticipated tussle with Andover tomorrow.

LAKEVILLE, CT--Hotchkiss beat the Choate JV handily last year so it was nice to be able to return the favor. Messrs. Baccash and Faust played the doubles match of the season--powerful, controlled and almost error-free. That and Carta's singles victory were the only easy wins, however. A highly competitive Hotchkiss squad demanded from the Wild Boars the utmost in discipline and consistency, and Choate lost any place it was not forthcoming. Goldberg, back after a lay off, needs time to regain his form, and Paik at #3 singles (having started the season at #8!) found the adjustment to this level of play a little trickier than expected. Overall a very satisfactory afternoon's tennis!

WALLINGFORD, CT--Coach Bill Cobbett's report: "If we had played like this against Hotchkiss this time last week we would have been sorry for it. A more labored, infelicitous performance--with one or two notable exceptions--would be hard to imagine. (All the good tennis got played the day before in challenge matches when Carta/Vertefeuille reclaimed the tops doubles slot from Baccash/Faust and Goldberg made up a three-game deficit to reclaim the #3 singles slot from Paik!) Today John Oster's match was one of the few of interest, demonstrating, again, that a cool consistency can handle all the tricks a desperate opponent might try. At any event, with eight wins (nine if we are allowed to count Andover who defaulted against us), and just one loss, this has been one of the JV's best seasons in recent years, a testimony to a talented team's hard work and readiness to meet the big challenges! Go Choate!"