Last spring, three teams—Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Churchill and Whitman—tied for the county’s Division I title, a clear indication of the close competition among Montgomery County’s top high school boys tennis teams. Whitman, B-CC and Wootton were then named co-champions of the Montgomery County tournament and Georgetown Prep and Landon finished in a three-way tie with St. Albans (D.C.) for the Interstate Athletic Conference banner; Prep won the season-ending tournament.
Much of the same parity is expected this year, according to several county coaches.
Favorites: With eight of its top 10 players back, including three of four singles players, Churchill (11-1 record in 2015) is arguably the deepest team in Montgomery County Public Schools competition. And, with the national-caliber talent at the top of most Division I teams’ lineups, depth will likely be a major differentiating factor when it comes to winning the division and county titles.
“The thing that surprised me about this team, honestly, is the depth from top to bottom,” first-year Churchill coach Neale Castillo said. “The four singles spot to No. 2 doubles, they’re all right there. So, definitely I think the team as a whole has taken several steps forward.”
Sophomore William Karpinski, who is ranked No. 277 of 1,445 nationally in the U.S. Tennis Association Boys 16s division, tops a strong singles continent. Last year’s third singles county champion, junior Michael Chen (No. 413 in USTA Boys 16s national rankings), will move up to the second singles slot and sophomore Bennett Yang, No. 64 of 448 athletes in the USTA Mid-Atlantic Boys 16s, should be one of the county’s best at No. 3 singles.
Though Whitman (11-1) is down two of its top four players from a year ago, the addition of two talented freshmen to the singles lineup—including likely No. 1 Evin McDonald (No. 238 in USTA Boys 16s national rankings)—has helped fill some of the void at the top of the Vikings’ ladder to prevent much, if any, drop-off. Jack Welch and Andrew Leung round out a tough top three.
Whereas the Vikings’ success has more recently hinged on strong doubles, Whitman’s strength this spring might lie in its singles. Longtime Whitman coach Jasen Gohn said senior Oscar Levine, the team’s only four-year varsity player, will be a doubles stalwart among a group of players newer to varsity.
Eight players are back to try to help Georgetown Prep (12-2) defend last year’s IAC tournament title. Though the Little Hoyas lost two of their top four players—undefeated No. 2 Nick Mouser and No. 3 Eric Speicher—the transfer of Colin Corsini, who slides into the No. 2 position, helps keep the top of Prep’s lineup virtually intact. Nikita Demir and Frank Watson will play Nos. 1 and 3 singles, respectively. Rather equal ability among the next eight players, who are all capable of playing No. 4 singles or No. 1 doubles, coach Keith MacKinnon said, should be a strength for the Little Hoyas.
Contenders: Wootton managed to claim a share of the county title last spring without having any representation in the No. 1 singles bracket. With several new components, the Patriots do have some questions to answer early. But their main goal, coach Nia Cresham said, is to solidify a strong lineup and fall into a good rhythm come postseason. A perennial power, Wootton should in no way be overlooked as a potential Montgomery Division I and/or county champion again this season. Joseph Brailovsky, who is ranked third in the USTA Mid-Atlantic Boys 16s and No. 139 nationally, leads the way. Last year’s No. 4 singles county champion Ben Fellman has moved up to No. 2. Jake Gordon, who won a state title in mixed doubles last spring, will be back at first doubles.
Landon coach Adam Atwell was admittedly nervous about the state of his team–which has shared a portion of the IAC title each of the past four years—after the Bears graduated all four singles players and the No. 1 doubles team. But two freshmen—Sachin Das (No. 54 in USTA Boys 14 national rankings) and Rodrigo Garcia—who have stepped into Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, have bolstered a lineup that took a hit in the depth department. Ben Selya and Harshvardhan Singh have moved into the third and fourth singles slots. The team’s only senior, Henry Smith, will anchor the doubles.
Some new additions to Bullis could also help lift the Bulldogs back into major contention for the title.
Darkhorses: Equaling last year’s success could be difficult for B-CC with only four returning starters. But the Barons do return their No. 1, Conor Smythe (No. 578 in USTA Boys 16s national rankings). Pascal Lee, who was half of the B-CC’s county champion No. 1 doubles team, will move up to No. 2 singles and Lucas Salcedo will round out B-CC’s top three.
Walter Johnson (8-4) is no stranger to postseason success but it has been a while since the Wildcats have been among the county’s elite. They can definitely present a challenge to top teams, though. Walter Johnson did graduate five seniors but No. 1 Ethan Kowalksi (No. 58 in USTA-MAS Boys 16s) is back and so is senior August Meriot, who has moved up a spot to second singles. Both should be among the county’s top five or six in their respective positions.
“Just having lost that many players, I don’t think we’re going to be in the upper echelon of Division I this year,” Walter Johnson coach Mitchell Duque said. “But we’re going to try to hang with the big guys and maybe take care of that fifth spot, so we can still maintain our Division I status for next year.”
The county’s top tier is quite difficult to break into and while Montgomery County Division II teams Blair and Blake do not likely have the depth to truly contend for a top-five finish in the county tournament this season, both could compete for a division title.
Nine freshmen help boost a Blair squad that graduated its top two singles players from a team that already struggled with depth. Richard Chen and Richard Jung should top the Blazers’ lineup.
Freshmen Sean Billerbeck (No. 57 in USTA-MAS Boys 16s) and Neal Garud, Blake’s Nos. 1 and 3 singles players, respectively, signify a new generation of tennis talent in the Blake community, first-year coach Karl Johnson said. A tennis-teaching professional, Johnson said he runs practices like a tennis academy and is looking to build the program into one of the county’s best. Between Billerbeck, Garud and senior No. 2, Delmar Kaiser, Blake should be competitive among the county’s second tier of teams this spring.
“It’s going to be an interesting season,” Wootton’s Cresham said. “Counties are going to be very interesting, there are so many talented players. But that makes it fun.”