North Star’s Boy’s Varsity Tennis team has been primed for a big year at the NSAA State Tennis Championships, With a second-year head coach and six returning letterwinners they have high expectations for themselves in October. Lincoln Chamberlin, a North Star alum and former varsity athlete states, “This team has potential to break records like never before”, after a strong start to the tennis season. One doubles team Callum Builder (11) and senior Easton Wesslund (12) recently defeated Southeast who were semi-finalists last year. These two have started out very strong this year and hope to continue further throughout the season as a first year doubles team. The number two doubles team is nothing to scoff at either. Seniors Kobe Merkel (12) and Keagan Joel (12) have been close friends since middle school and have built a close relationship inside and outside of court which certainly helps them stay on the same page. On September 13th, both the teams went 2-2 and brought home a medal placing third place. On the other side of the game are the senior singles players Jarrett Daniel (12) and Max Ritchey (12). Daniel has had a hard start to the season and hasn’t defeated any other one singles players but keeps his head up high and hopes to change that throughout the season. Ritchey on the other hand has had a strong start to the season with a current record of 6-7.
During a short interview with all of the seniors that make up this team I asked two simple questions, “What do you hope for the future of the program?”, as well as, “How are you trying to influence the upcoming players?” Just about all of the players who answered the first question said they hope to find passionate players who enjoy the game as much as they do. Current varsity members including Max Ritchey (12) , Easton Wesslund (12), Kobe Merkel (12), Keegan Joel (12), Jarrett Daniel (12), Callum Builder (11), and Joshua Bangcuang (12) also said they are influencing the upcoming players by bringing energy every day to practice and just providing a positive learning environment where new players can build their confidence. Behind this varsity team is head coach Lincoln Chamberlin who brings his own personal connection to the game by practicing with the players on the court and giving many inspirational speeches before invites and duels. Chamberlin made sure to highlight how strong the leadership is on the team which comes from the team being able to start practice without him even being there. Chamberlin’s main goal as a coach is to build a team that is comfortable to say anything to anyone and ends with “I love when we just play well, wins come as an extra.” Make sure to keep the Gators on your radar October 16th and 17th at the NSAA State Tennis Championships.
