Sean Hassett and Logan Toth helped lead the J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ tennis team to a 7-1 record this past spring.
The eighth grade Hassett went 4-2 in No. 1 singles and the seventh grade Toth finished with a 5-1 mark in the No. 2 singles slot to pace the Falcons. The 14-player squad was coached by district physical education teacher Eric Mininni.
“Sean has been a pleasure to have for the past two years,” Mininni said. “He is always working hard and is delightful to coach. He’s faced the top players on every team and has always given his best.”
Toth proved to be another gritty competitor. “I look forward to working with him next year and seeing him continue to grow into an outstanding player,” Mininni said.
Will Weber was another talented eighth grader, winning four of six matches in the No. 3 singles position. “Will is a great leader and a hard worker,” Mininni said. “I will really miss his presence as will the team next year.”
Eighth grader Matt Minicozzi also went 4-2 in No. 4 singles. Seventh graders Brody Gordon and Vincent Grassi compiled a 4-2 record in No. 1 doubles.
“Our best team accomplishment was our match against Elwood,” Mininni said. “I was so proud of everyone. It was the last match of the meet and the entire team stayed and walked down to the last court and cheered Matt Minicozzi on to victory. They did it all on their own. I didn’t have to coax them. They really played well and pulled together for each other. It was awesome.”
The Finley roster also included seventh graders Vito Aloe, Timothy Kusterbeck, Gavin Lefebvre and Lorgio Portillo-Castro and eighth graders Matthew Beasley, Jack Cesare, Alexander Frawley and Matthew Levinson. Beasley and Hassett were the team captains.
“The team was a great group of boys who really pulled together and were there for each other, which helped us achieve a record of 7-1,” Mininni said. “We’ll be returning a number of good tennis players next year.”
