Tennis is a technical sport that measures each competitor’s skill. Each forehand: the key to winning. Each backhand: a game-changer. Every technique that is needed to be a great player is an art that takes years to master.

In addition to a technical sport, tennis is one that requires focus and responsibility. Players are charged with the responsibility of keeping their own score and adhering to the rules. There are no officials or referees at the matches.The players simply play the game. This means there are many opportunities for each player to cheat. As a result, tennis players must display a remarkable sense of responsibility and sportsmanship.

The final skill that is most necessary to play tennis is endurance. Each match consists of playing the best two out of three sets. In order to win a set, a player must win six games, which follow the traditional order of tennis (fifteen, thirty, forty, game). Given the long duration of the game, matches take an average of an hour and a half.
Junior varsity player Griffin Celleghin remarked “matches are both physically and mentally challenging and exhausting.”

The Beachwood Bison have been vigorously working to perfect these necessary skills. The boys tennis team works everyday to improve their team record and prepare themselves for Chagrin Valley Conference tournament, sectionals, and the state tournament.

“I try to do drills that create stressful situations, because a match is a stressful situation and your swing and mental edge must hold,” tennis head coach David Cole said.

After a very successful season last year, taking fourth in the team state tournament in Columbus, winning the CVC conference, and having a 19-1 season record, the team has been striving to keep up their good work. Several of last year’s top players, including Brock Hirsch, Andrew Romanoff and Kennedy Mulholland, have graduated, and the team, with a record of 4-3, have been struggling to match last year’s standards. However, with new additions to the varsity team, like sophomore Barack Spector and senior Alex Glassman, the team is still very competitive.

Team veterans like juniors Kaustav Malik, Celleghin and Alex Machtay, along with seniors Brett Dubin and Karan Gill.

In addition to the loss of last year’s seniors, the team has a more difficult schedule this year, including many private schools such as Hawken School and University School. Cole indicated that the record this year may be worse than last year, but that it does not indicate that the team is getting worse.

“The schedule is deceiving. I made the schedule much tougher, but we are the second or third in the state for public, division two schools,” Cole said.

“Even though we lost a lot of players from last year, I think we still have a strong team [this year] that keeps getting better. I don’t think the state should count us out this year. We may even end up better than we were last year,” Malik said.