Boys varsity tennis competed in the annual Kingswood Oxford Invitational Tennis Tournament this past weekend. The event consists of 4 singles and two doubles draws, with 8 schools competing as individuals but each match counting toward a team score. It is always a fun (and long!) event, with great camaraderie amongst the competitors. DA finished in fifth place overall, though once again the team had opportunities to win very tight matches and place higher.
Junior captain Ethan Li competed in the #1 singles bracket. Li drew the first seed in the first round, and played a brilliant match against the very strong Nick Hermes- the eventual runner-up- from Hall High School. Li went up a break to start the second set but ultimately fell 6-4, 7-5. Having to play his next match outdoors in cold, blustery conditions, Li then lost 8-4 to Choate’s Reid Bock.
In the #2 bracket, freshman Gunter Weldon continued his excellent start to the season by defeating senior Sahil Annamaneni from Hotchkiss 6-0, 6-0 in his first round. The semi-finals consisted of a rematch with Groton’s Griffin Gura, who stole match points from Gunter during last weekend’s dual match. Weldon again gave him a run for his money again but lost 6-4, 5-7, 10-7. Weldon then placed third in hid draw by defeating Westminter’s Will Whiting, another senior, 8-6.
Sophomore Tai Feng competed in the #3 singles bracket and won his first match as well, defeating Will Maclean from KO 6-4, 6-2. In an epic battle in New England’s infamous spring weather, Feng narrowly lost to Matias Acevedo from Hotchkiss 6-7(8), 6-3, 10-8. Unfortunately Feng was unable to compete in his 3rd/4th round playoff match due to illness.
Rounding out the singles was junior Anthony Sparacio in the #4 bracket. Sparacio made quick work of KO’s Amogh Peddapothla 6-1, 6-2, but then lost in his semi-final matchup against a solid Lawrenceville opponent, Aryan Kumar. In his playoff match, Sparacio fought back from bring down 5-7 to force a tiebreaker, but ultimately fell to Watcharananan from Choate 9-8(4) to finish in fourth place.
In doubles, Li and Weldon teamed up to compete in the #1 bracket, again drawing a tough Hall High School team first round. Hermes/Eisen saved a match point in the deciding third set superbreaker to defeat the DA duo 6-4, 1-6, 11-9. Li/Weldon drew a walkover in their second round match, and ended the tournament with a win against Logan Sun and Will Whiting from Westminster, 8-5.
Sparacio and fellow junior Walker Naughton played in the #2 doubles bracket. In their first round match, Choate’s Will Henderson and Watcharananan out steadied the juniors to win 6-4, 6-2; Da turned it around with aggressive tennis in their second round match to defeat Bryce Langdon and Kieran Yeatman-Biggs from Lawrenceville 8-3, but then lost to Westminster’s Logan Sun/Hugh Olson 8-6 in the backdraw finals.
DA walked away with a total of 10 team points on the weekend, and is looking forward to hosting KO at home on Wednesday, April 10 as the team gets back into its dual match schedule.