Boys' Thirds Tennis: Archives

Singles:

1. Motulsky (W)

2. Semler (W)

3. Lardner (L)

4. Deng (L)

5. Kwon (L)

6. Yan (W)

Doubles:

1. Semler/Lardner (W)

2. Motulsky/Deng (L)

3. Kwon/Yan (W)

1. R. Motulsky (L)

2. G. Semler (L)

3. H. Lardner (W)

4. J. Kwon (W)

5. J. Lau (W)

6. A. Yan (W)

7. R. McHugh (L)

1. Semler+Lardner (L)

2. Kwon+Lau (L)

3. Motulsky+Yan (W)

We traveled to Wallingford without our #5 and 6, Justin Kwon and Jason Lau, as they made their way up to Boston to perform in a musical. However, our team once again demonstrated our depth and determination of winning under adversity. Henry Lardner fought well despite of his sickness. He lost 4-8 eventually. Our #7 and 8, Alex Yan and Randy McHugh stepped up the laddar and won all their matches for the day. We will be hosting Hotchkiss at home on Wednesday.

We were blown away by the much stronger Rumsey vasity team. Both teams demonstrated perfect sportsmanship and we were grateful for the opportunity for a wonderful opportunity to compete.

Taft v. Canterbury

After a great scenic drive to New Milton, our boys arrived at Canterbury on a wonderful sunny spring afternoon. We maintained our momentum and executed our shots pretty well. Lau and Lardner were not very consistent for their serves, while Kwon showed fatique for unknown reason. Otherwise, we had no big problem and won our first away game for the season. 

Taft v. TP

Singles:

1. Motulsky v. Baselga 8-2

2. Semler v. Manov 8-0

3. Lardner v. Berihun 8-3

4. Deng v. Li 8-3

5. Kwon v. Cronin 8-2

6. Lau v. Mi 8-1

Doubles: 

1. Semler/Lardner v. Baselga/Cronin 8-1

2. Kwon/Lau v. Bi/Volpicello 8-1

3. Motulsky/Deng v. Bi/Mi 8-0

Exhibition:

7. Yan v. Bi 6-3

Taft boys kicked off the season with a comfortable win against TP at home. We will hit the road this Saturday at Canterbury.

Taft v. Choate

Singles

1. Stu Brannan v. David Kong 8-4

2. Reed McDonnell v. Justin Choi 8-6

3. Jack Reynolds v. Grant Khosla 8-5

4. Oliver Salk v. Gus Esselstyn 8-4

5. Conor Bronsdon v. Ian Silvers 8-1

6. Reed Motulsky v. Justin Sun 9-7

Doubles

1. Brannan+McDonnell v. Kong+Choi 8-5

2. Reynolds+Salk v. Khosla+Silver 8-4

3. Bronsdon+Motulsky v. Esselstyn+Sun 8-2

Day -27: Taft was beaten by Choate at home by 0-7.

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Day 1: Back from Long Weekend. Rain, practice cancelled.

Day 2: Rain, practice cancelled.

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Day 5: My internet seems to be down, because the weather forecast stays at "Heavy Rain" for the entire week. Looking out, it is finally sunny but who knows if it will hold up till our late practise slot. At 4:15, Coach Kan walked up the slope for the last practice in 2011, seeing a few players hitting rallies, a few others riding on their skateboards. Sunlight was filtering through the dark, heavy cloud. The scenry was mysterious and peaceful, would have been a perfect visual illustration for "Carpe Diem". It was a free-practice, meaning we simply paired up and played games. We all knew, though without showing, we had a great task to take on before we could walk away from our brief season -- a task that seemingly impossible.

Day 6: Internet was not fixed yet, still the usual "Rain/Thunderstorm". Ah well, we will dance as we go. We got on the bus with a few raindrops farewelling us. Some skeptics suggested we should just call it cancelled (Choate was so good anyway). Mr Orben quickly turned down the suggestion and ordered the march to Wallingford. And fortunately he did, otherwise the Taft thirds tennis team would not have their sweetest revenge for their season!

The two team started with the same line-up as the last encounter. However, just observing the way we carried ourselves during warm-up, we could hardly call ourselves the same team. We looked pumped up, the body movements were deliberate, we were on our toe, and most importantly, we looked hungry. As a Physics teacher, Coach Kan knew very well that so much of the potential energy was built up, the only outcome would be an unstoppable stream of kinetic energy gushing down at whoever stood in our way. 

In addition to being well-rested, the team had learned to be patient and emotionally stable, which had been the motto of the team this season. None of us took any risk. Even when we were given an half chance, we let it built up to a better chance in the next rally. Our goal was to bore our opponant to the point that they had no choice but to take risk, and that was when we turned the tide and won the landslide victory against a team that beat us 7-0 only weeks ago. Today, we won all of our singles and doubles matches, wrapped up the season in a very fine fashion.

Thank you for following the Taft thirds tennis team this spring. I have a great time coaching our boys, and it's a pleasure to see them grow and mature. Most importantly, our boys demonstrates great sportsmanship towards the end of the season. And as a Taft alum and Taft athlete, that was the only goal that I gave our boys, and I am glad to report that they had done a nice job in keeping our school brand nice and classy. See you next season!

Taft v. Westminster

Singles

1. Stu Brannan 8-4

2. Oliver Salk 8-2

3. Reed McDonnell 8-0

4. Jack Reynolds 11-10

5. Conor Bronsdon 8-4

6. Reed Motulsky 3-8

Doubles

1. Stu+Jack 5-8

2. Oliver+McDonnell 8-0

3. Conor+Motulsky 8-1

Taft thirds tennis recorded their first away win against Wesminster last Saturday. It was a sunny, pleasant afternoon when the blue suburban pulled in the Headmaster circle. Despite Jack Reynolds, who missed practice the previous day due to his music performance, showed up 10 minutes late, the rest of the team showed up on time and were in high spirit. We talked about life, physics, and many other topics on our brief 50 minutes scenic drive to Simsbury, and this reminded Coach Kan of his love and passion of being a teacher and coach. 

All of the singles started simultaneously. At #6, despite his dramatic improvement since the beginning of the season, Reed Motulsky failed to shake off his error-prone playing style. He could not resist the temptation of making risky shots. As a result, he made enough mistakes that eventually sucked his confidence down a giant whirlpool. At #3 single and #1 double, Jack could have had a comfortable win if he did attend practice the previous day, which emphasized that importance of making overhead shots and keep the ball in the court. 

The rest of the line up kept up with their momentum built from our landslide victory against Hotchkiss several days ago. We will be hitting the road again to Salisbury on Wednesday.

Taft v. Hotchkiss

Singles

1. Stu Brannan v. Sebastian Grunebaum 8-4

2. Oliver Salk v. Hyunsik Park 8-3

3. Reed McDonnell v. Joseph Turrini 8-1

4. Jack Reynolds v. Joseph Turrini 8-3

5. Conor Bronsdon v. Joseph Harris 8-1

6. Reed Motulsky v. Roland Cassirer 8-6

7. Gio Crovetto v. Blake Ruddock (2-8)

Doubles

1. Stu+Jack v. Sebastian+George 8-2

2. Oliver+McDonnell v. Hyunsik+Joseph T. 8-1

3. Conor+Motulsky v. Joshue Guevara+Jae Hwi Shin Forfeited by Hotchkiss

The Taft thirds tennis hosted Hotchkiss at home this afternoon. Following two consecutive defeats, our boys bounced back with a convincing win against our traditional rivals. We showed better consistency than our last two matches, and we were evidently better mentally prepared. As a result, we won every single game along our line-up without much difficulty. 

The team is coming along together at the right time of the season, and it is reasonable to be optimistic for our remaining games. We will be having our first away game at Westy on Saturday. Please come and support us!

Taft v. Choate

Singles

1. Charlie Rudkin v. Brandon Barrett (3-8)

2. Stu Brannan v. David Kong (7-9)

3. Oliver Salk v. Justin Choi (1-8)

4. Conor Bronsdon v. Grant Khosla (4-8)

5. Reed Motulsky v. Ian Silvers (5-8)

6. Gio Crovetto v. David Silin (0-8)

Doubles

1. Charlie+Stu v. Brandon+Grant (1-8)

2. Oliver+Reed v. Ian+Justin 8-6

3. Conor+Gio v. Gus Esselstyn+Justin Sun (1-8)

"April showers bring May flowers" is the phrase that we hear a lot during this time of the year. The thirds tennis team certainly agrees with the saying because 2 of our last 5 matches were cancelled because of the notorious April rain. However, last Saturday afternoon rain did not get in the way of our match against Choate because we were able to utilize the 4 indoor courts.

With Easter Weekend around the corner, 2 of our players Reed McDonnell and Hugh Mansfield had family obligation and could not participate in the game. Also, Jack Reynolds was ill and did not make his way to the fieldhouse, so we had to pull Charlie Rudkin down from the JV team in order to have enough players for the game. 

The young Rhinos were only able to record one victory at one of the doubles. The Wild Boars were a better team in terms of skill level and game mentality. It was evident that they were ready to do whatever it took to grind us down. Despite the adversity, our boys fought bravely and consciously, demonstrating patience and sportsmanship along the line-up. It was fair to say that this was our best performance in the season so far. 

We will be hosting Hotchkiss on Wednesday. Please come and support us.

Taft v. Rumsey Hall

1. Stu Brannan 10-8

2. Oliver Salk (forfeited due to illness)

3. Reed McDonnell 8-6

4. Jack Reynolds (1-8)

5. Conor Bronsdon 8-6

6. Reed Motulsky (6-8)

7. Hugh Mansfield 8-6

8. Gio Crovetto (2-8)

1. Brannan+McDonnell (6-8)

2. Salk+McDonnell 8-6

3. Conor+Motulsky (6-8)

The young Rhinos had their first defeat of the season at home this afternoon against Rumsey Hall. We fought well along the line up but Rumsey Hall was proved to be a better team on this given day. In the double matches, our #1 and #3 failed to hold onto their early advantage and succumbed to their opponents' consistency. As a result, we lost our first point, which proved to be fatal later on.

Captain Stu Brannan had a great tie-breaker win. During his marathon mach, Stu showed calmness and wisdom as he made his shot selection. At times he was outpowered by his opponent, but he compensated his game with patience and relatively error-free playing style. Reed McDonnell and Conor Bronsdon demonstrated not only their skill but also match-winning mentality and continued their winning streaks. 

Jack Reynolds' performance was erratic. He was very promising during practice, but today he simply let go of his single match after he lost his doubles. Oliver Salk showed great character as he held onto last minute before he had to forfeit his match due to illness. Reed Motulsky had a good start but he played too conservatively afterwards and failed to hold onto his advantage. 

The team is still gelling together, and this defeat is good for us as we look to pick ourselves up and move on to the right direction. 

Taft v. Salisbury

Taft thirds tennis team kicked off the season in a fine fashion with a convincing 7-0 victory against Salisbury at home last Saturday. It was a wonderful afternoon with plenty of sunshine and a slight hint of breeze. We have a very young team, so only Hugh Mansfield needed to take the tormenting ACT in that morning. The rest of the team grabbed their uniform at 12:30, and gently warmed up as our varsity boys took on Andover next door. Salisbury showed up 30 minutes late, but hardly caused any anxiety for our boys because everyone was relaxed and confident.

Since the first serve of the doubles, it was obvious that the Rhinos were much more skillful in almost every aspects. We were also far more discipline and mechanical when it came to serving and executing shots. The boys were excited for the newly formed partnership and did well at the net, and we overcame our opponents easily. The singles were one-sided as well. Our boys powered through Crimson Knights in every position. 

We will be traveling to TP for our first away match this season on Wednesday. 

Singles:

1. Stu Brannan v. Sean Kim 8-2

2. Oliver Salk v. Jae Sung Cho 8-0

3. Jack Reynolds v. Dan Shi 8-1

4. Reed McDonnell v. Alex Pepper 8-0

5. Conor Bronsdon v. David Trotta 8-1

6. Gio Crovetto v. Tommy Chang 8-2

7. Hugh Mansfield v. Matt Barrett 8-0

8. Reed Motulsky v. Minh-Triet Pham 8-0

Doubles:

1. Stu B./Jack R. v. JS C./MT P. 8-1

2. Oliver S./Reed M. v. Sean K./David T. 8-0

3. Conor B./Gio C. v. Dan S./Adam C. 8-3

View this game's photo gallery

Taft traveled up to Hotchkiss today to face our bitter rival and came out with another victory. We are now 4-1 on the season and improving each day we are out on court. We started off the match with three very well played doubles matches to take the doubles point. Here were the scores:

1. Charlie Rudkin/Jordan Whalen def Chris Balderston/Caleb Tuke 8-4 Taft

2. John Davidge/Oliver Salk def. Nick Biggs/Addison Haxo 8-4 Taft

3. Hugh Mansfield/Teddy Chatjaval def. Thomas Wu/Hyunski Park 8-2 Taft

exhibition 4. Tommy Rowe/Evans Hedges def. Kenneth/Shara 7-3 Taft (pulled due to time)

We went into the singles feeling confident. John Davidge and Hugh Mansfield continued their win streaks and Oliver Salk  and Teddy Chatjaval played great tennis to secure wins. A special shout out goes out to my exhibitionists, Evans Hedges and Tommy Rowe for winning their matches quickly and effectively and for being the most positive and supportive teammates we could ask for.

Here are the singles scores:

#1 Charlie Rudkin def. by Chris Balderston 3-8 Hotchkiss

#2 Jordan Whalen def by Caleb Tuke 4-8 Hotchkiss

#3 John Davidge def. Nick Biggs-Chiropolos 8-4 Taft

#4Oliver Salk def. Hyunsik Park 8-6 Taft

#5 Hugh Mansfield def. Addison Haxo 8-2 Taft

#6 Teddy Chatjaval def. Thomas Wu 8-4 Taft

exhibition: #7 Tommy Rowe def. Kenneth Lo 8-4 Taft

exhibition: #8 Evans Hedges def. Shara Mirzayee 8-2 Taft

Next up is Westminster on Monday--- a tough squad. Hopefully, we can continue this great win streak. Congrats to everyone!!

Yesterday, the Boys III Tennis team headed to Rumsey to face a team that beat us 7-0 last year. I am so proud of my team for coming from behind to beat a very tough Rumsey opponent. Special congratulations go out to John Davidge, Hugh Mansfield, and Harrison Glazer for hanging tough in their singles matches and beating some difficult opponents. Harrison, joining us from JV, played an opponent with very solid ground strokes and he never gave up and found a way to win convincingly at #1. Hugh took the court with his usual energy and determination and was ahead the whole match. John fell behind and then battled his way back into the match to seal the victory for Big Red! Special thanks to Evans Hedges for giving extra support to the team.

Here are the scores:

Doubles: Taft wins doubles point.

#1 Charlie Rudkin/Jordan Whalen def. Lee/Pupp 8-5 TAFT

#2 John Davidge/Oliver Salk def. Steven/Memo 8-5 TAFT

#3 Hugh Mansfield/Teddy Chatjaval def. Izzy/Gillian 8-5 TAFT

Singles:

#1Harrison Glazer def. Kento Kirakawa 8-3 TAFT

#2 Pupp Chayapong-Charrvart def. Charlie Rudkin 8-6 RUMSEY

#3 Jason Lee def. Jordan Whalen 8-4 RUMSEY

#4 John Davidge def. Andrew Gimenez 8-5 TAFT

#5 Will Findlay def. Oliver Salk 8-1 RUMSEY

#6 Hugh Mansfield def. Phil Smith 8-5 TAFT

Next match is Saturday away at Choate at 3:30PM. We hope to continue our winning streak!

Coach Aroesty

Boy's III Tennis showed today that they were too tough for Canterbury's JV team with a strong 6-1 win. At the start of the match, we announced that Charlie Rudkin and John Davidge would captain the team this year. Congratulations to them! We came out to a strong start in doubles, with another authoritative win by John Davidge and Oliver Salk at #2.

#1 Rudkin/Whalen def. Bishop/Endres   8-3 TAFT

#2 Davidge/Salk def. Seo/Oh     8-0 TAFT

#3 Chatjaval/Mansfield def. Lee/Lee 8-6 TAFT

In the singles, we came out strong securing 5 of 6 of the matches. Harrison Glazer, who stepped in from our JV team, played a tough match and consistently battled out his opponent in some long rallies. John Davidge and Hugh Mansfield played tough to secure a victory against opponents that battled to keep the ball in play. Here were the scores:

#1 Harrison Glazer def. Sean Owens 8-3 TAFT

#2 Rin Nankoong def. Charlie Rudkin 8-3 CANTERBURY

#3 John Davidge def. John Sokolski 8-4 TAFT

#4 Jordan Whalen def. Ben Chachaj 8-3 TAFT

#5 Oliver Salk def. Chris Frayne 8-2 TAFT

#6 Hugh Mansfield def. Daniel Joo 8-6 TAFT

Great win for the team! Next match is Wednesday away at Rumsey Hall against a very strong team. This will be a real test for us!

The boys thirds tennis team lost a close match today to a tough TP team. All 8 players on my team got to play in a match that counted toward the overall score of the competition. The highlights were a great doubles match win 8-1 for Oliver Salk and John Davidge at #2 and terrific singles match wins for Oliver Salk, Hugh Mansfield, and Teddy Chatjaval. Here is how the matches broke down, with Taft losing the doubles point to TP to lose the match 3-4.

Doubles:

Martinez/Canfield def. Rudkin/Whalen   8-0 TP

Salk/Davidge def. Philip/Ian 8-1 TAFT

Mark/Will def. Rowe/Hedges 8-3 TP

Singles:

Ryan Martinez def. Charlie Rudkin 8-3 TP

Brad Canfield def. John Davidge 8-6 TP

Julian Jorhain def. Jordan Whalen 8-4 TP

Oliver Salk def. Will Williamson 8-3 TAFT

Hugh Mansfield def Sebastian Mara 8-2 TAFT

Teddy Chatjaval def. Jordan Schultz 8-3 TAFT

Next match is this Saturday against Canterbury away. We are 1-1 on the season.

Coach Aroesty

The Taft Boy's Thirds Tennis team traveled up to Salisbury on a beautiful Saturday and got their first win of the season, 6-1. We started off by securing the doubles point right off the bat. Here are the scores from the doubles:

Gunnar Hughes/Peter Hitchcock def. Charlie Rudkin/Jordan Whalen 7-9 Salisbury

John Davidge/Oliver Salk def. Dan Shi/Tony Ta 8-1 Taft

Hugh Mansfield/Teddy Chatjaval def. Harald Barran/Eduardo Barran 8-4 Taft

We entered the singles matches up 1-0 and proceeded to take 5 of 6 of them. Since we had to clear the courts by 3:30PM for a Varsity match, we played as long as we could and secured our first victory about one hour into the match.

1. Charlie Rudkin def. Gunnar Hughes 8-4 TAFT

2. John Davidge def. Peter Hitchcock 8-4 TAFT

3. Jordan Whalen def. Tony Ta 8-0 TAFT

4. Oliver Salk def. Dan Shi 6-0, 6-1 TAFT

5. Harald Barran def. Teddy Chatjaval 7-8 SALISBURY

6. Hugh Mansfield def. Eduardo Vera 8-4 TAFT

7. Tommy Rowe def. Ruc Tao 8-1 TAFT in exhibition

We face off against TP at 3:30PM at home on Wednesday. Good effort to all on our first win of the season!