John Jay Tennis Shows Enthusiasm in Loss to Horace Greeley

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On Tuesday April 9, John Jay took on Horace Greeley at home and hoped to up their record to 2-0. Unfortunately, the Wolves ran into a tough group of Quakers and lost six of seven matches. But Coach Paul Crivelli still enjoyed the day and had high praise for his boys.

“I’m glad my team showed enthusiasm,” he said. “They’re a great group of student-athletes.”

The only win went to the doubles team of Evan Outwater and Jackson Bieber, and the winning blueprint was easy to identify. “We’ve been friends for 13 years, so we have really good chemistry on the court,” said Bieber.

The synergy had the duo noticing where they could take advantage. “One of the players was weak on the volleys. We could just hit it at him, and it worked well,” said Bieber.

In contrast, Outwater didn’t leak at the net in the 6-2, 6-2 victory. “My volleys were pretty good today,” said the junior. “I was hitting them hard and getting them back.”

6-2, 6-2 was the score on singles court one, but not on the upside for Matthew Marchini, he knew where he fell short versus Adam Fink. “Consistency,” the sophomore was succinct.

A rematch only possible in the sectionals, being on point is the remedy. “I got to be more locked in,” said Marchini.

Next door on court two, Jonathan Marchini wasn’t bringing a victory home either. Still, he felt pretty good about his 6-3, 6-1 loss. “I played well,” he said.

Ground strokes and serves to his liking, he hopes to improve his approach going forward. “I want to get better at volleys and see where it takes me,” said Marchini.

Not Dylan Scott, he’s happy on the baseline. “I run around and hit it in,” said the junior.

Unfortunately, an injured leg derailed the back and forth game he loves to play. “I couldn’t really do that today,” said Scott after the 6-1, 6-1 loss.

Back on the doubles court, a 6-2, 6-3 loss didn’t keep Karl Shue from hitting his forehand pretty hard. “I just focus, and then I do what I can,” Shue said

As for his backhand, he doubles down. “I go two handed because you get more stability and strength with the left hand on the racket,” he said.

Only an 8th grader, his partner definitely noticed the middle schooler he shares the court with. “He’s already better than me,” said Colin Baird-Taylor, “and I’m happy he’s blasting his forehand with me.”

Pairing well with his “heavy serve,” the straight set loss still had him in the win column. “I always have fun,” Baird-Taylor said. “If it’s not fun, it’s not a win, and even though we lost, it’s still a win.”

The same goes for the approach of Devon Kislin and Chaz Thea, so mistakes are never a problem. “We just laugh it off,” said Thea. “It’s the only way to do it.”

Not just words, Thea always puts the mindset into practice and makes no bones about poking fun at his game. “My strengths, it would be better to ask me about my weaknesses,” he joked.

Of course, a good player figures out how to hide those weaknesses, and Thea is no different. “With my smile,” Thea kept playing along.

But in all seriousness, there is a method to this madness. “We make a joke of the bad plays. Then you forget about it, move on and play better on the next point,” Thea assured.

A highly contested 6-4, 6-4 match makes the point. Still, miscues must get to them and cause a frown to come over at times. “Never happens, never seen it,” said Kislin.

A great comedy team, they also complement pretty well in terms of covering the court. “Chaz is definitely better at the baseline, and I’m better at the net,” said Kislin.

So going forward, why shouldn’t the sky be the limit? “We’re going to the worlds,” Thea dropped the mic and concluded the day.

Ben Wysmuller and Will Cranstoun played the final match and fell 7-5, 7-5