BY KIKI TROILO FRIENDS' CENTRAL SCHOOL
Match #1- Shipley School vs. Friends Select School (at FSS)
PHILADELPHIA- The Friends League Boys Tennis Season is officially in full motion. There seems to be a lot of competitive matches going on in league play. This week, Shipley faced off against Friends Select. Even though this is considered a non-league match because the teams are competing in two different pods, it was helpful for Shipley to use this as an opportunity to find their range.
From the beginning of the match, Shipley was clearly the stronger opponent, and this was definitely reflected in the scores. On the first court, senior leader Brody Ladda controlled the match and won with a double bagel, 6-0 6-0. But Ladda wasn’t the only Shipley player dominating on the court.
Singles 2 for Shipley, Leo Sun, took control early in the match using his strong serve to his advantage. He played an outstanding first set, with little to no mistakes. Sun as only a sophomore is truly proving himself in the Friends League and he is going to need to continue to stay at this level with upcoming matches against Friends’ Central and Germantown Friends.
As for the rest of the Shipley team, they showed that they have many tools available to them on the tennis court. 1st and 2nd doubles, along with third singles, all stayed consistent while adding in slices and dropshots sparsely throughout the match.
It is very evident that Shipley’s 1st doubles is quite the fierce pair and are certainly a duo to keep an eye out for. Paul Mattis and Keith Duncan don’t only play well together but they frequently communicate on the court. They talk between points to strategize while also hyping each other up to keep up the high level of tennis that they continue to showcase.
Although Shipley remained dominant in this match, Friends Select’s team should not be sold short. They continue to be competitive in the Quaker Pod and have a lot of strong tennis ahead of them. At the end of April, leading into May, they have a big opportunity to show what they are made of. This opportunity, also known as the Quaker Cup playoffs, gives them a shot to take home a championship against Westtown, Abington Friends, and George School.
Friends Select in match vs. Shipley School. (Photo by Kiki Troilo)
Match #2: Barrack Academy vs Friends’ Central (at FCS)
Barrack and Friends Central met once again but still got the same exact result as before. Although some of the matches remained competitive, Friends Central just seems to be too fierce of a team for Barrack to beat.
Yosef Nissimi stayed on top at first singles with a competitive match against Friends’ Central's Luke Cilli. After a tough first set with the match going back and forth, the two brought it into a tiebreak. Although the 1st set was competitive, the tiebreak was not the same case with Nisimi taking the first set 7-6 (7-1). The final match score was in Nisimi’s favor, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.
Friends’ Central’s second and third singles took strong wins against Barrack. But it was FCS’s doubles that took the biggest victories of the team. 1st doubles team Ameya Punathambekar and Holden Freedman won their match 6-0 6-0. They were followed by a win from 2nd doubles Kyle Cilli and Charlie Freedman 6-3 6-0.
With this match win, Friends’ Central adds another victory to their collection. The team stays strong for the 2025 season, and this is adding a lot of pressure to the teams around them. The question in the picture is now what team is capable of beating FCS, if any team at all! There are 2 weeks until Friends Pod championship playoffs for the title and a lot of matches to come, so a lot can change in the span of these 2 weeks ahead. No team is out of the running quite yet.
Friends' Central Tennis Team. (Photo FCS Athletics)
In the coming weeks, rivals continue to go head-to-head. The Friends League season has now passed the halfway point with playoffs just around the corner so winning matches is more important than ever. Friends’ Central is set to face off against Shipley which is a highly anticipated showdown. Then Germantown Friends will face Shipley in another clash of two powerhouse teams. With only 2 weeks until the Friends League teams reach the playoffs, every win counts.
LEAGUE STANDINGS AS OF 4/15
Friends Pod-
Germantown Friends- (3, 0)
Friends’ Central- (3, 0)
Shipley- (1, 2)
Barrack- (0, 4)
Quaker Pod-
George School- (4, 0)
Westtown- (3, 1)
Abington Friends- (1, 3)
Friends Select- (0, 4)