Last year the boys tennis struggled with a 1-16 season having to manage with only five players on the team. However the team has brand new faces this year and is looking for redemption.
The boys tennis team welcomes five new freshman to help increase their depleted ranks. These rookie players–Joshua Powanda, Jeffery Varesio, Gabriel Sousa, Richard Weishner and Nicholas Hudson–want to make sure they help the team get to the next level not just this year, but for their high school career.
Powanda, although new to the team is ready for the new opportunity to play for the Hawks.
“I know I’m not a returning player,” said Powanda, “but, I’m excited for a great year with future years to come.”
The team also has new leadership, welcoming head coach Charlie Ostrander, Woodland graduate and current assistant swim coach. Ostrander believes with his experience of playing for the Woodland Boys’ Tennis Team and coaching tennis for three years that it should help him get the team focused and on track.
Also after only a short time of seeing them, Ostrander said the freshman looked good at practice and should fit right into the program.
Although Ostrander notes that there are “technically no captains yet,” senior leadership will play a big role in the team’s place in the NVL this year. And even if there is not any former NVL players a returning senior, Mike Roulanaitis will be a huge help.
Roulanaitis had an over .500 record in singles, was number one seed on the team last year, was top ranked in the NVL and won his first round of doubles with Christopher Pinevich. Roulanaitis is in hope that the program does well this season.
“I believe this year will be a huge rebuilding process for the freshman and the new coach,” says Roulanaitis. “We have very strong freshman and a great coach who is willing to work with them. But the most important thing is that is that we unify as a team so it won’t matter if someone is new or young.”
The tennis team started practicing on Saturday, March 19th in hopes to prepare for a better year. Their first match will be held home against Naugatuck on Wednesday, April 20th at Kennedy, where Roulanaitis will take charge and try to lead the team to a victory.
