Boys' Latin wins its fourth consecutive MIAA B tennis crown

by Nelson Coffin

Entering the spring with seven seniors, four of whom are fourth-year varsity players, Boys’ Latin tennis coach Rich Zielaskiewicz knew that his team was well stocked for a fourth straight title run.

Zielaskiewicz got a hint of things to come when the Lakers edged A Conference rivals Calvert Hall College and Loyola Blakefield and kept running downhill until capping off a perfect 12-0 slate with a 5-0 sweep of Key School in the B Conference championship match on Thursday afternoon in North Baltimore.

BL’s veterans corps also helped to garner wins over A Conference members Severn and St. Paul’s while focusing on dominating B Conference foes.

“They had four years in the program, with tons of experience and they’re super-greedy,” Zielaskiewicz said. “So, yeah, I was super confident coming into the season just because of that, because of the depth we have.”

Like many of his coaching peers, Zielaskiewicz said that figuring out the right combination via the team ladder was a bit of a challenge at times.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to come up with the most fair way — an analytical way — to take a bias out of it,” he added. “We had a really stiff competition for the (No.) 1 (singles) spot this year, which flip-flopped a couple times. And it was tough for those guys. But if you try to keep it as fair as possible, at the end of the day, I think the kids understand, and I think we made the right decisions.”

On Thursday, junior Neil Curley represented the Lakers well in the No. 1 singles, downing Luke Homes, 6-1, 6-3,  after taking a third-set tiebreaker against the talented Key senior when the teams met during the regular season.

“We all figured that something like this was possible,” Curley said after going undefeated in B Conference matches this spring. “Having those seniors and having myself and Logan (Roth) with experience as juniors, there was just so much there, so we knew a championship was a limit for us.”

Curley said that he shifted his approach against a player with such a big serve like Holmes.

“My usual strategies are to try to play really offensively and dictate all the points,” he said. “I just tried to keep the ball in play and keep the ball deep in the court and put as much pressure on him as I can. Play strategic defense — and then take my chances.”

In the longest match of the afternoon, BL senior Eli Holder outlasted junior Morgan Schaefer, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), in the No. 2 singles after Evan Rosen topped freshman Tate Holmes, 6-3, 6-0, in No. 3 singles.

With the way Rosen’s serve was going, the younger Holmes was at a distinct disadvantage.

“I had a few mishaps,” Rosen said. “But I was able to overpower him with the depth of my forehand.”

Roth and senior Max Riter had their way with the Zags’ junior duo of Jeffrey Mullin and Ian Hedgecoth, 6-2, 6-1, in No. 1 doubles while BL senior Charlie London and sophomore Graham Feiss beat sophomores Sam Kursban and Matei Dean, 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 2 doubles’ slot.

Riter said that his team is good enough to compete at a higher level, like the A Conference.

“We have a lot of fight in us,” he added.

Chemistry and communication, among other attributes, helped the Roth-Riter combo to prevail for the second straight year.

Roth noted that his skill at the net pairs well with Riter’s ability to command the baseline.

“We’re really good friends,” he said. “It’s been money.”

Key coach Will Rogers said that building a 12-3 record in the second year of the Zags’ B Conference journey has been special.

“I’m super-proud of them,” Rogers said. “We’ve had some players with unbelievable records. That was Morgan’s first loss of the year. He’s 14-1 now. Luke is 11-3 and Tate is 10-5. And our doubles teams fought hard. No. 2 doubles was closer than the score indicated.”

Luke Holmes said that getting to the final was “meaningful” after a rough first year in the B last spring.

“Turning it around is really awesome,” he added. “I know we didn’t perform the way we wanted to today, but getting here is really amazing.”