Peters and Stillman Nab
All-League Honors
Seniors Cole Peters and David Stillman nabbed All-League honors with the Huntington High School boys' tennis team, which compiled an overall 4-8 record.
Coached by Jamie Fishlow and captained by Stillman the team turned the intensity of its play up several notches over the second half of the season. The Blue Devils' top players included Stillman (No. 1 and No. 2 doubles), Peters (No. 1 and No. 2 singles) and Michael Valente (No. 2 and No. 3 singles).
Fishlow said Stillman is "hard working and very dedicated. He cared about his teammates and really improved his doubles play." Peters took on the role of No. 1 singles, which pitted him against the top player on every opposing team. "He sacrificed his play for the team to help us win," Fishlow said.
The coach billed Valente as a "tireless competitor," and teammates would agree. The senior utilized a "never quit" attitude and kept coming at his opponents on the other side of the net.
The 15-player team also included Maxwell Fehrs, Michael Garing, Gabriel Goldman, Philip Hofsiss, Robert Hughes, Samuel Johnson, Brian Marek, Ari Moskowitz, Jeffrey Sun, Kevin Warren, Benjamin Wohl and Maxwell Zelinka. The squad won 4-of-10 league meets.
"During the second half of the season, the team finally got it together," Fishlow said. "We were on a path for last place, but we ended up in fourth. We narrowly missed a .500 season."
The Blue Devils packed a lot of team and personal growth into the 10 week season. "At first, the team had a problem with leadership and determination and reaching their potential," Fishlow said. "Through hard work, a lot of coaching and relentlessness, they improved over the second half of the season. We had a lot of guys without varsity experience. Juggling the lineup and hard work improved our performance."
Next year's team will most likely feature a young lineup "with some very strong promise from a successful JV team," Fishlow said. The top players going into the season are expected to be juniors Sam Johnson and Max Fehrs. PJ Hofsiss, Ben Wohl and Brian Marek could also play leading roles.