The Boys' Tennis Team is Swinging into the Season
As the weather has continued to get warmer, spring sports have started. The boy’s tennis team recently took a trip to Florida during spring break and have played their first few matches. Regarding the agenda of the spring break trip varsity coach, Vincent Cannata, says, “The Spring Break trip was great. We played some very tough teams. This should make us stronger for the rest of the season. We also went to the Miami Open and it was great to see how the pros play and warm up.” Many players including a few underclassmen enjoyed the spring break trip.
Better Health Channel says, “Tennis is a good sport for maintaining health, fitness, strength and agility. It also has social and psychological benefits.” That being said, the boys are benefitting greatly from playing tennis. This year's varsity team consists of 7 players: 2 seniors, 2 juniors, 2 sophomores, and 1 freshmen. When talking about the team this year, Coach Cannata says, “The team looks good this year. We have a lot of new faces on the team. Returning we have Chris Cifani at #2 singles. He has also helped with some of our newer players. Also returning is Jonah Shanholtzer who will be anchoring our #1 doubles team. Connor Emrick looks to play more of a full-time role this year on Varsity. Newcomers Kade Morgenroth, Joel Fletcher, Tommy Cogley, and Noah Jaskolka will also contribute to our Varsity team.”
Senior Vince Cannata plans to play tennis at Baldwin Wallace. He started playing tennis at 9 because his dad played in high school and wanted Vince to play. During the winter he teaches and plays tennis. What Vince feels had led him to be so successful is “Love for the game and playing anytime I can.” As a pre-match ritual, Vince touches his racquet to the top of the fence. A player that he looks up to is “Rafael Nadal because of his mentality when it comes to playing the sport.” Lastly, he is mostly looking forward to winning the Suburban League this year.
Vince's dad (Coach Cannata) speaks on his experience coaching his son: “Coaching my son has been one of the best experiences of my life. Watching him from age 6 to now has been exciting to watch. He is correct most of the time when we don't see eye to eye. I will miss him next year not just because he is our #1 singles player, but because he is like another coach out there and tries to help others with their games.” He is excited for Vinny to play in college and feels that his work ethic will really help him at Baldwin Wallace.
Another Senior on the team, Jonah Shanholtzer, talks about when he started playing tennis: “I played some tennis as a kid when I was 5 years old but then I did not touch a racket until Freshman year. I have been playing tennis since Freshman year consecutively.” To stay in shape during the off-season he plays soccer year-round and plays tennis with Vince in the summer.
Jonah's favorite tennis memory is: “When Krish Patel gave an inspirational speech right before our match against a tough opponent and we ended up winning the match.” Jonah feels that being determined and not giving up will lead to success during matches. He is looking forward to seeing how the doubles team will do on Varsity since ¾ of the doubles players are new to the Varsity team this year. His pre-game ritual is a snack and listening to music.
When asked if he likes playing singles or doubles better, Jonah explained, “I like playing doubles more than singles. Singles is very boring all by myself whereas doubles you have a partner that you can chat with. I also like doubles since I like being up at the net more.” Coach Cannata has coached tennis at Aurora High School for 4 years on the boys’ team and 1 year on the girl’s team.
One newcomer, Joel Fletcher, has been playing tennis for 5-6 months. His pre-game ritual is to pray before every match. On the team, he is closest to Vince Cannata because he has helped Joel a lot with tennis. In talking about his success Joel says, “I believe if you work hard and if you believe that you can do it you can be successful in anything.” In the off-season, he plays Golf for the high school.
Finally, freshman, Noah Jaskolka, has been playing tennis for 4 years. He is most excited about boosting his skills and becoming better at tennis. During the off-season, he plays at Western Reserve. For him, this is what makes him successful: “Always being consistent with my opponent and always trying to be on my feet.”
The last thing Coach Cannata says is this: “The competition will be tougher than last year because we are playing a stronger schedule. I think we should do well because we are a little bit stronger than last year.”
The boys’ team has matches almost every day. Make sure to go out and support them while they compete at the Aurora High School tennis courts!
Check out the Tennis Schedule and come support the Greenmen!
By: Charlotte Varkala