The KO boys varsity tennis team has qualified for the NEPSAC Class B playoffs for the first time in many years. Coming off an extremely close and heartbreaking loss to Salisbury in the final match of last year, which denied them a NEPSAC berth, this season, the Wyverns bounced back strong with a 9-5 record heading into the tail end of the season.
Their record comes with some impressive wins, like their 5-0 and 6-1 victories over rivals Avon Old Farms on Monday, April 20, and Westminster School on Monday, April 27, and close losses like a nail-biting 4-3 loss against a strong Taft opponent back in the beginning of April.
Head Coach Andrew Krugman talked about the progress the boys have made and how they still control their own destiny in a tight playoff race for the remaining seeds in Class B. Coach Krugman talked about three matches that he was very confident about. “Where we are right now is a little bit ahead of where we were last year…we have Berkshire, Cheshire, and Salisbury,” Coach Krugman said, “All three of them are winnable, and it would put us in a really good place.”
The Wyverns took a huge step towards a playoff bid after they toppled Berkshire at home on May 6, winning 5-2, meaning one or two more wins might just see the boys over the line and into the postseason for the first time in many years. The Wyverns also ended up winning against Cheshire Academy on Monday, May 11, 6-0 and Salisbury on Wednesday, May 13, 4-1.
Coach Krugman also spoke about the impact the four seniors (Saahit Gaddipati, Aarav Mathur, Co-captain Pratt Blair, and Co-captain Ciaran Concepcion) have made on this team this season. Mathur has provided essential depth to the team, and Gaddipati’s leadership and reliability as both a doubles and singles player have been important to this team. “I see it as a coach that you don’t have to be a captain to make an impact, and I think the kids just look towards some mature steadiness,” said Coach Krugman when talking about Gaddipati.
Blair and Concepcion have been the center of this team for a long time, six years, according to Coach Krugman, and they continue to impress as singles and doubles players for KO. “This year it’s just the two of them,” Coach Krugman said. “They have been playing at the one and two spots pretty much for their whole high school career, and they’re both so important. They’ve kept us anchored as a solid high school team.”
Depth has been a key factor for this team’s success, with freshman Isaiah Shobola slotting into 3 singles as well as sophomores Logan Barash, Neil Reddy, and Noah Sadowsky being important and steady singles and doubles players.
As the season reached its crescendo, the KO boys varsity tennis team was the fifth seed in the NEPSAC Class B tournament, something that has not been done in a long time. In the quarterfinals on Saturday, May 16, the boys went to Roxbury Latin, MA, and faced Buckingham Browne & Nichols. The boys sealed the doubles point from a stand out performance from Barash and Gaddipati at the no. 3 doubles slots. The duo won 9-7 in a very back and forth match. This was very important for the rest of the match as the team ended with the Wyverns winning 4-3 with singles wins from Blair at no.2, Shabola at no.3 and Gaddipati at no.5.
On the same day the boys played in the semifinals against Roxbury Latin on their home court. In a very close match the boys were unable to pull out the win; however, it was still an impressive showing.
Overall, the boys varsity tennis team has made an impact in NEPSAC and is hoping to carry that momentum forwards to the next season.
