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Boys Tennis: 2023 Season Outlook

Daniel Clarke
St. Luke’s boys varsity tennis opened its 2023 season on Monday, April 3, against Wilton High School.

The Storm put up a good fight in the cold and windy weather but eventually lost 1-6.

Head Coach Frank Russo returns for his second season with the Storm and knew the Warriors were going to present his team with a tough test: “Wilton is, arguably, the best public school boys tennis team in the state. However, it was great for us to go up against some excellent players and have the opportunity to gauge where we are before conference play begins.”

Russo has been enjoying the first few weeks with the team and is excited to see what this year’s players can achieve: “Preseason has been fun. It’s been great to get to know some of the new guys and reconnect and build relationships with the returning players. As a team, our goal is to continue to improve every day. We turned a corner toward the end of last season and finished 6-5 overall. We are looking to improve upon that this year with hard work and dedication.”

The team has not named captains as Russo wants all his players to be leaders, on and off the court. He will rely on his more experienced players but wants some of the underclassmen to lead by example, too: “We will look to Phillip Etergino ’23, Max Kavan ’23, and Will Mathus ’24 as upperclassmen leaders, but I expect Dylan Barkley ’25 and Todd Cannaliato ’25 to step into leadership roles, too. I also look forward to seeing some of the younger guys, such as Connor Haan ’26 and Bryson Baker ’26, come in and show what they can do.”

There are a number of new players on the team this season, and Russo believes finding the right balance and pairings will be one of his biggest challenges: “We will need to find the right doubles pairings if we want to be successful and meet our goals. We have a lot of talented players, so it will be up to me to find the correct combinations. This team will play smart, high percentage, enthusiastic tennis, and we’ll be fun to watch.”

The Storm returns to the courts with back-to-back road trips on Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12, at Brunswick School and Masters School (New York), respectively.
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St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.