By: Sean Moylan Sports Editor
A 14-7 overall record doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the 2008 Florence High coed varsity tennis team.
A Group I powerhouse for years, the 2008 Flashes went 10-0 in the Freedom Division and loaded up their out of conference schedule with several matches against talented Group III and IV tennis squads.
“We made it to the Central Jersey semifinals and at the end of the year we were ranked third in Group One in New Jersey,” said Florence head varsity tennis coach Ovi Dragos. “We lost some tough matches but out of the 12 teams we played in Burlington County, we only lost to Lenape and Moorestown.”
Thanks to the hard work of Dragos and his assistant Sam Steinmetz (the former head coach of the club) the Flashes’ tennis program has grown by leaps and bounds the past decade. The club is built to be strong this year too.
While Florence graduated its number one singles player from last year in Miguel Coronel, this season there shouldn’t be any drop off at the top spot with Milo Milosovici filling that position in the lineup. Gifted with great power shots and the mental toughness to win most of the close matches, Milosovici, a senior, already has plenty of experience as a first singles player.
“Milo has a stronger first serve than last year,” added Dragos of Milosovici, who already had one of the better serves in Burlington County.
During the offseason, senior Ben Pinter took tennis lessons at Mercer County Park in order to prepare for the jump from third singles to second singles. Pinter has brought that same strong work ethic to this year’s preseason camp as he has recently worked countless hours with Dragos on perfecting his game.
Junior Josh Partyka, who had a breakout season last year as a doubles player, will play third singles. Impressed by Partyka’s general enthusiasm for the game of tennis, Dragos commented, “He’s a nice guy with a good game. I love this kid. He still has to work on his serve but it’s gotten much better this year.”
Seniors Nick Bencze and Russell Mollimock will be Florence’s first doubles tandem. Both are very experienced varsity tennis players who may just dominate most of their Freedom Division opponents this season.
“Nick (Bencze) has nice shots, a nice serve and awesome volleys,” noted Dragos, who has been very pleased with Mollimock’s commitment to his tennis game, which is exactly where Dragos wants it to be at this point of the preseason.
While all of the aforementioned players were all varsity starters last year, senior Pavan Kothari and sophomores Joe Malone and Arnold Petras will battle it out for the two open vacancies at second doubles. According to Dragos, Malone has improved a lot since last year and Petras has nice volleys. Kothari is also shaping into a very solid tennis player.
During the course of the season, Angela Federico (junior), Jeremy Feher (junior), Zach Hoffman (sophomore), Kyle Pukenas (sophomore) and Troy Scanlon (freshman) may see some varsity action. However, the bulk of their matches will most likely come at the junior varsity level this season.
Nathan Manthey, John Paul Diaz, Kush Patel, Joey Chianese and Chris Fox are a group of incoming freshmen who Dragos refers to as “The Buds.” He dubbed them “The Buds” because they’re all budding tennis players on the rise.
“The Buds” are expected to play mostly junior varsity tennis this year. However, as their tennis games bloom, one could see a Bud or two playing in a varsity match sometime this season.
The Flashes have looked very good in the early scrimmages as they defeated an excellent Seneca team and lost a close one to Haddonfield, which always has a formidable club.
In Dragos and Steinmetz, Florence is fortunate to have two of the most knowledgeable tennis coaches in the area.
“Sam and I are both PTR (Professional Tennis Registry) certified. I practice a lot. Now I can correct almost any mistake they’re making. Sam is always willing to string rackets and help out. He’s a real gentleman in a gentleman’s game,” said Dragos, who, himself, is well-known for his long practices and his thorough teachings on shot selection, serving and various other tennis techniques.
“I love to work with intensity. I love to get them going. I’m tough on them but I think that, overall, the kids respect me and I respect them. I run with them and I play tennis with them.”
After a few successful knee surgeries, Dragos is now relatively healthy and doesn’t make his players do anything he wouldn’t physically be willing to do himself. If he asks them to run up and down the bleachers, he’ll do it too. However, like Dragos, the Florence players have grown to expect excellence out of themselves through hard work and determination.
“Our goal this year is to defend our Freedom Division title and go as far as we possibly can in the playoffs,” said Dragos, whose team already has a pair of Group I Central Jersey titles to its credit.
Florence is scheduled to open its at home against Cinnaminson on April 1. As usual, expect a lot of winning.

