Weston Crowned State Champs In Tennis

Weston Racquet Club surpassed all expectations by overachieving their seeding to earn first and fourth place in the USTA Junior State Tournament at East Shore Park in East Haven.

Going into the tournament the 8 & under Weston Wonders team was seeded fourth while the 10 & under Weston Wildcats team was seeded fifth. The players were optimistic since they won the winter USTA junior league for the 8 & under and were runners up in the 10 & under winter league.

Battling against the odds they were undefeated against all comers, including New Haven and two teams from Norwalk. Weston got off to a fast start, defeating the No. 1 seed New Haven in the first round by only 8 points, 49 to 41, splitting their singles and doubles matches. They followed up with a solid win over both Norwalk teams, thrashing the “thrashers.”

Overall though, winning was not their goal.

“I sent an inspirational email out to our team saying “Remember, Don't try...just let it happen. Don't play to win, play to play well! Playing well will lead to winning,” stated Director of Tennis at Weston Racquet Club.

They say that in tennis and sports your preparation is just as important as how you play during game day. That was certainly the case for Weston.

Although seeded fourth, they felt they were one of the best teams in the state. Even though the average age of the children was seven years old, they practiced six hours a day for the three days prior to the tournament. They demonstrated at a young age the desire to prepare in order to achieve their goal as best in the state of Connecticut in QuickStart 8 & under Junior Team tennis.

It was a bitter sweet achievement as some of the players age out next year and must play in the 10 & under division.

“What a great effort today by everyone from our 8 and under and 10 and under teams! What a difference one year makes!” exclaimed Warren Wen, the father of two of the players, fraternal twin sisters, Vivian and Olivia.

They played singles and doubles as the format was to have two singles players compete and two doubles teams, both boys and girls.

“Being a twin myself I know that playing with your sibling is not always easy, but I was certainly impressed with how they composed themselves in competition playing with each other at just the precious age of eight,” shared Rossetti.

The duo of John Hui and Jeremy Cheng had chemistry in doubles, playing well together, while Christian Sanchez jumped in where needed.

The eight and under players look forward to playing up in the ten and under division next year while Weston Racquet Club’s younger players can look forward to practicing to compete on the eight and under team. Weston plans to field teams in the fall, winter, spring and summer this upcoming year rather than just in the winter.

Prem Dave has the best of both worlds as he is only seven years old but ended up having to play for Weston’s 10 & under team in order for them to avoid forfeiting. He is eligible to play for the both the 8 & under and 10 & under teams next year.

He and Griffin Forberg almost defeated the top doubles team in the state from Shippan, Aidan Reilly and Terrence McGrath. They were down three to zero and were four points from losing only to come back to tie the match only to be edged out in the final tiebreak.

It was certainly a team effort, with parents of the players bringing coolers of food and water, one or two even stepping in to help coach like Gina Forberg, the mother of Griffin who played on the 10 & under team.

Adriana Pereira took over the coaching for the 8 & under team during the competition to relieve Forberg. She is a top Division I player for the University of South Carolina, who taught the summer junior program at Weston Racquet Club.

“I am so impressed with the dedication and drive of the young players of Weston. It was such a joy to work with them this summer to prepare for the goal of winning states,” stated Pereira.

The team could not have achieved what they did without the help of Justin Campbell, who coached them during the winter season but was unable to coach at the state tournament due to his other summer teaching job. He returns to Weston for the Fall, Winter and Spring.

Most of the eight and under team will age out, but they have set their sights on winning the states in the 10 & under division next year. Until then, practice, practice, practice will be their plan.

More information can be found online at www.WestonRacquet.com.