By: Kiki Troilo Friends’ Central School Jr. Reporter
Friends’ Central vs. Barrack Academy match on March 18th.
PHILADELPHIA- On Tuesday, Friends’ Central (FCS) and Barrack Academy went head-to-head at the FCS tennis courts. The boys were set to battle it out playing sets to 6, best out of 3 with ad scoring in effect. There are 3 singles matches, and 2 doubles matches spread out across 5 courts.
Finally, the matches began at around 4:30pm with the sun shining brightly. The first singles match was a highly anticipated one with Friends’ Central’s Luke Cilli going against Barrack Academy’s Yosef Nisimi. Nisimi used his powerful yet consistent serve to his advantage, but Cilli continued to hold strong on his returns through the first few games of the match. This was just an early sign that this could be a very interesting match between these two talented players. Nisimi made the smart decision to switch up his strategy a bit and began taking bigger risks. He started luring his opponent into the net and then going for winning shots, taking the match 6-3, 6-1.
On the second court, Zach Tamarkin of Barrack Academy was matched up against Ezra Raphael of Friends’ Central. Tamarkin tried to hold strong on his service games, but Raphael’s pace is a hard thing to handle. Raphael, playing a very solid and steady match, took the victory 6-2, 6-2.
As the match progressed, the sun started to prove itself as a bit of an issue for some players when approaching the net. Yet 3rd singles players Amitai Fridenriech (Barrack) and Axel Bauridel (FCS) continued to stay in long rallies with one another, going to the net when necessary. FCS’s Bauridel stayed consistent even during 20-30 ball rallies and he took the match 6-3, 6-1.
Both 1st and 2nd doubles were decent matches, but FCS just got the better of Barrack. 1st doubles player and freshman Ameya Punathambekar is very excited about the season ahead.
“We played a strong team, Barrack today, and we got the win. I think that we have a really strong team and can totally go all the way. We are just not trying to get ahead of ourselves, just keep our eye on the next game on the schedule," said Punathambekar.
Friends' Central 1st doubles player Ameya Punathambekar. (Photo/ Friends' Central Athletics)
Punathambekar and doubles partner Holden Friedman have their focuses set on keeping a strong win streak throughout the upcoming matches.
Although it is very early in the season, with this match being one of the first among league play, FCS is showing signs of its dominance early. Not a bad match at all between Barrack and Friends’ Central but both teams are set to have a rematch later in the season. Friends’ Central takes the match 4-1 but good play from both teams all around.
Germantown Friends vs. Barrack Academy match on March 20th.
Barrack Academy played not only one but two in league matches this week. After a loss to Friends’ Central earlier in the week, they were looking to get a win against powerhouse team Germantown Friends (GFS) at their home courts, located at Barrack.
Nisimi went head-to-head against Germantown’s Trevor Zurcher. Although Thursday’s wind may have been a slight issue, the first singles match was quite the event. Zurcher took an early lead 3-0, later taking the first set 6-2. GFS’s number one playing very crafty, proving himself to be fit for the role. He threw in drop shots, slices, lobs, and even approached the net to finish off points with volleys frequently. But Nisimi hung tight in the 2nd set, keeping the match on serve (Barrack ahead) with Zurcher serving. But in a stunning change of events, Zurcher withdrew from the match with illness, sharing a kind embrace with his opponent. A very unfortunate ending for a solid match with the final being 6-2, 5-4 (withdraw-ill), giving Barrack the victory.
For the second singles match, senior Zach Tamarkin for Barrack faced off against breakout star 8th grader Henry Mather. Mather set the tone early on, staying dominant throughout his debut performance. He was one of the first off the court with a win for GFS of 6-1, 6-0.
Amitai Fridenriech truly held his ground for Barrack. He took on GFS sophomore Lucas Daniel. Fridenriech took control of the match early on, winning the first set 6-3 and going on to win the second set 6-1.
Both GFS doubles teams stayed dominant, winning in 2 sets each. GFS’s first doubles team Jack Abend and Kevin Li worked very well together and approached the net frequently. Both second doubles pairs played a tight match, going back and forth throughout the second set but ultimately GFS took the win 6-0, 6-3.
On top of all the strong matches, GFS was playing with a different lineup then they typically have. Senior Samuel Bekelmen has yet to be cleared from injury and fellow senior Benedict Tessler only missed the match due to school obligations. It is very impressive that a GFS without some of their top players still played a spectacular match and took the team victory 3-2 against Barrack Academy.
The week prior, Barrack took a home a good win against Abington Friends School.
Germantown Friends vs. Barrack Academy (photo Kiki Troilo Friends' Central School)
They won that match 5-0, playing very strong tennis. Barrack has an exciting season ahead of them and they are definitely a team to keep an eye on.
Looking Ahead
The following week was spring break for most of the teams in the Friends League, but that doesn’t mean that the training or competing stops. Friends’ Central took a trip to Florida for some spring break play and practice for the week at the USTA National Campus. The stage is being set for some amazing competition this year in just the first week of the season.
This season, the Friends School League separated teams into two pods consisting of the Friends Pod and the Quaker Pod. The Friends Pod will compete in the Friends School League Championship and the Quaker Pod will be competing in the Quaker Cup at the end of the season.
Below are the current standings thru matches played from thru 4/8
FRIENDS POD
Friends Central (2, 1)
Germantown Friends (1, 0)
Shipley (1, 0)
Barrack (1, 4)
QUAKER POD
George School (2, 0)
Westtown (1, 1)
Abington Friends (1, 1)
Friends Select (0, 2)