The start of the Wadsworth High School boys tennis season on Friday has fallen victim to the weather. Both the JV match at North Royalton and varsity match at Wadsworth against North Royalton have been cancelled.
Wadsworth boys tennis team coach Christa Halicki says the boys tennis season is packed into a short time frame. “We generally play 3-to-4 matches a week in a 5-to-6 week time frame.”
For those of you who are not familiar with tennis at the high school level, the final score is determined by the winners of three singles and two doubles matches. The winners of the “best-of-three sets” match receives a point for their school. So the winner of the singles match featuring the number one players is just as important as the second doubles match.
“You need a full team to win. This team has embraced each other, has become friends with each other and root for each other. And it’s not a chore to root for your teammates, said Halicki. So, the varsity team has to have seven players to compete and has to operate as one unit.
Wadsworth’s number one singles player this year is senior Cameron Croghan, who is also the captain of the team. For Croghan, this is his fourth year with the tennis team and his third year on varsity.
“Cameron brings a lot of energy with him when he is on the court” says Halicki. “He’s very athletic and he picked the game up very quickly.”
Croghan describes himself as a “defensive player.” His strength is being able to return just about every ball to the other side of the net. That strategy can frustrate opponents. He also likes to play at the net “and hit a lot of short balls,” says Halicki.
The first match for the Wadsworth boys tennis team is at Chippewa High School on Tuesday, March 31. The first home tennis match is on Wednesday, April 1 against Strongsville High School. The matches begin at 4 p.m.
