Peddie tennis expects to improve on great season

Falcon boys team has five returning varsity players.

By: Sean Moylan
   Although the Peddie boys’ varsity tennis team posted a fine 10-5 record, it finished behind both Hun and Lawrenceville in both the Mid-Atlantic Prep League and the State Prep ‘A’ tournaments last season.
   But Peddie is definitely looking to improve.
   "We have five returning varsity players so we hope to be as good as or better than last year," said Eric Gustavson, who is entering his 12th season as Peddie’s boys’ varsity tennis coach.
   Topping that list of exceptional returning players will be senior Zach McGuinness, who posted a 12-6 first singles record last season.
   "This will be his third year at number one," said Gustavson of McGuinness. "Zach is a very competitive, very tenacious player. As he’s grown older he’s become more powerful with his ground strokes."
   McGuinness also has a good serve. However, Gustavson would like to see his senior star come to the net just a bit more.
   Sophomore Chris Rosensteel, who played at first doubles last year, will move up to second singles this season.
   "He’s a very good net player," added Gustavson of Rosensteel.
   Junior Dane Isenberg is returning as Peddie’s third singles player. Last season, Isenberg posted a 9-6 varsity record playing singles and he is a very strong tennis player.
   One of Peddie’s doubles teams is likely to feature senior Henry Shen and sophomore Austin Belchak. Senior Austin Tanapunsin is also likely to be one of the Falcons’ top doubles players.
   "This is his (Tanapunsin) first year at the school, but he’s an experienced player," Gustavson remarked.
   Senior Chris Lee, sophomore Dan Garfing and sophomore Nikhil Lakhanpal were Peddie’s top three junior varsity singles players last season. This year they’ll all be fighting for playing time with one of Peddie’s doubles teams.
   "We have nine players for seven spots," added Gustavson, who will be assisted by Brian Dubrule, who coached Peddie’s girls’ varsity tennis team this past fall. Marc Buchner is Peddie’s boys’ junior varsity tennis coach. There are roughly 23 kids in the program, and both Peddie’s varsity and its JV team are expecting to do well.
   "We’ve had nine straight years of .500 or above. We’ve done well," added Gustavson, who would like nothing more than to add a MAPL or a Prep ‘A’ State title (or both) to his resume this year.