Centreville Boys Tennis Team Starts Season With High Hopes

After a winless 0-10 campaign last year, the Centreville High School boys tennis team begins 2011 with a clean slate, and reason to believe that this year will mark a turning point for the program. If last season was about character-building losses, the team’s new coach, Chauncey Street, hopes that this year is all about winning.

“We just had our best tryout ever—with more than thirty players making the team—and our top six players look very strong, so I’m hopeful entering the new season,” Street said.

Street is a seasoned coach who has been involved in tennis player development for more than thirty years in Denver, Rochester and now Virginia. He believes in instilling mental toughness in his players, so his first challenge will be getting the players to believe in themselves after a difficult season last year.

Nick Bilyeu, a senior who has started since his sophomore year, returns to the team as its number one singles player. Bilyeu won four matches last year, playing against the top players from around the district, and lost in the quarterfinals of the district tournament against Phil Nelson, a nationally ranked junior from Herndon. He hopes to attend William & Mary or UVA next year and has been training 2-3 times per week in the offseason at the Burke Tennis Club. Bilyeu believes that he’s made some improvements in his game, which he models after his favorite player, Andy Roddick.

“We’d like to forget last year, but we’ll use it as motivation- we don’t want to go winless again,” he said.  “I think we’ll be better. We’ll win some matches for sure.”

Robinson High School, which has won the district’s boys tennis title 16 of the last 17 years, will once again enter the season as the favorite to capture the district title. But they’ve lost their top player from last season and Street thinks he has the horses to compete in a tough district.

Nahom Endrias, a junior, will begin the season in the number two singles position. 

“Nahom is a baseliner with an excellent return of serve, good hands at the net, and a strong serve,” Street said.

Senior Praveen Mohanraju, a tall, all-court player with a strong overall game, is likely to anchor the number three singles hole and will rely upon his serve to win him quite a few free points.

Dillon Dull, a sophomore, will start the season as the number four singles player but may be the most improved member of the team. 

“He’s not a real smooth player but he’s been beating everyone, he’s a human backboard, and he’s got a real strong competitive edge,” said Street, who also teaches massage therapy. Steve Rechter, a senior with classic strokes who plays mostly from the baseline but isn’t afraid to come into the net, begins the season in the #5 spot, while Brian Su, an ultra-competitive baseliner, will hold down the final singles slot.

Bilyeu and Endrias will form the top doubles team, with seniors Abashek Ramanan, and Manan Shah playing number two, and Su teaming up with Andrew Shim in the three spot.

Of course, tennis is still an individual sport- and players will move up and down, and in and out of the lineup based upon their performance, and the team’s challenge ladder system. Street believes that a realistic goal for the year would be a 5-5 season, but thinks the team could soar to even greater heights.

"You know the Rudyard Kipling quote above the locker rooms at Wimbledon? It says, 'If you can meet with triumph and disaster and meet those two imposters the same,' well, that's what we have to do," Street said.