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Win over Gunnery
Hopkins Handles Gunnery Graciously 7--0
On Saturday, May 21, Hopkins had its second consecutive home match in
two days, this time against the Gunnery School of Washington, Ct.
Though Gunnery came into this match with a 10--2 overall record, their
schedule had been against relatively weaker schools than the ones
Hopkins had played. But our Hopkins team proved to be ready for
anything that Gunnery could muster against our Hopkins boys junior
varsity squad.
It was mutually decided that each individual contest would be decided
by an 8-game pro set, using regular game scoring. We started with 3
singles and 2 doubles matches.
Kyle Burton and Bryan Gu at #2 doubles got Hopkins on the scoreboard
with well placed shots, good teamwork, and aggressive play, winning
handily, 8--2. Next to follow was Michael Satanovsky, at #2 singles,
who moved his opponent around the court from side to side well with
forehand topspin drives, gaining an 8--1 victory. Following that was
the strong forehand topspin play of Hopkins #3 Clay Wackerman, whose
looping topspin drives kept his Gunnery opponent well behind his
baseline much of the time. Clay came though with a sold 8--2
decision, giving Hopkins a nearly insurmountable 3--0 team lead.
Eleventh grader Andrew Baxter and ninth grader teamed up well together
at the #3 doubles spot, outmaneuvering and outstroking their Gunnery
opponents 8--3, thus clinching the team victory for Hopkins. But
there were still a number of contests still to be played.
At #1 singles, Skyler Sugar recovered quickly from a tough loss
yesterday to post a solid and well played match, winning 8--3. Skyler
proved himself particularly strong in terms of hitting topspin passing
shots when his opponent came forward to the net position. This set
the stage for the second round of matches on the north 5 courts at
Hopkins.
Our eighth grade standout, Khelan Parikh, took to the court at #4
singles and promptly dispatched his Gunnery adversary with a dazzling
display of well placed topspin ground strokes and occasional volleys
without the loss of a single game. Then our #1 doubles ninth grade
combination of Eric Martin and Siraj Patwa followed suit with an
equally impressive 8--0 conquest through the use of good hustle and
excellent shot selection. The Hopkins #4 doubles team of Jacob Wolfe
and Connor Hartigan used good serving and steady ground strokes to
come through with an 8--2 decision.
This left the #5 and #6 singles matches still to be completed. Ayuka
Sinanoglu at #6 used his driving topspin forehand to good advantage to
keep his opponent on the defensive and wound up with an 8--2 verdict
in his favor. Finally, tri-captain Amar Kalaria at #5 took a while
for his usually strong forehand to settle down, and found himself in a
5--5 tie score before taking the final 3 games to complete the Hopkins
shutout.
This gives Hopkins a 9--0 dual meet record, with the final match
coming next Wednesday against also undefeated tennis powerhouse Taft
School of Watertown, Ct. Wednesday's match will take place on the
Taft campus.
Back
On Saturday, May 21, Hopkins had its second consecutive home match in
two days, this time against the Gunnery School of Washington, Ct.
Though Gunnery came into this match with a 10--2 overall record, their
schedule had been against relatively weaker schools than the ones
Hopkins had played. But our Hopkins team proved to be ready for
anything that Gunnery could muster against our Hopkins boys junior
varsity squad.
It was mutually decided that each individual contest would be decided
by an 8-game pro set, using regular game scoring. We started with 3
singles and 2 doubles matches.
Kyle Burton and Bryan Gu at #2 doubles got Hopkins on the scoreboard
with well placed shots, good teamwork, and aggressive play, winning
handily, 8--2. Next to follow was Michael Satanovsky, at #2 singles,
who moved his opponent around the court from side to side well with
forehand topspin drives, gaining an 8--1 victory. Following that was
the strong forehand topspin play of Hopkins #3 Clay Wackerman, whose
looping topspin drives kept his Gunnery opponent well behind his
baseline much of the time. Clay came though with a sold 8--2
decision, giving Hopkins a nearly insurmountable 3--0 team lead.
Eleventh grader Andrew Baxter and ninth grader teamed up well together
at the #3 doubles spot, outmaneuvering and outstroking their Gunnery
opponents 8--3, thus clinching the team victory for Hopkins. But
there were still a number of contests still to be played.
At #1 singles, Skyler Sugar recovered quickly from a tough loss
yesterday to post a solid and well played match, winning 8--3. Skyler
proved himself particularly strong in terms of hitting topspin passing
shots when his opponent came forward to the net position. This set
the stage for the second round of matches on the north 5 courts at
Hopkins.
Our eighth grade standout, Khelan Parikh, took to the court at #4
singles and promptly dispatched his Gunnery adversary with a dazzling
display of well placed topspin ground strokes and occasional volleys
without the loss of a single game. Then our #1 doubles ninth grade
combination of Eric Martin and Siraj Patwa followed suit with an
equally impressive 8--0 conquest through the use of good hustle and
excellent shot selection. The Hopkins #4 doubles team of Jacob Wolfe
and Connor Hartigan used good serving and steady ground strokes to
come through with an 8--2 decision.
This left the #5 and #6 singles matches still to be completed. Ayuka
Sinanoglu at #6 used his driving topspin forehand to good advantage to
keep his opponent on the defensive and wound up with an 8--2 verdict
in his favor. Finally, tri-captain Amar Kalaria at #5 took a while
for his usually strong forehand to settle down, and found himself in a
5--5 tie score before taking the final 3 games to complete the Hopkins
shutout.
This gives Hopkins a 9--0 dual meet record, with the final match
coming next Wednesday against also undefeated tennis powerhouse Taft
School of Watertown, Ct. Wednesday's match will take place on the
Taft campus.
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Voted #1
Best Day School
in CT, 2024
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Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
