VETERAN STREAKS SHUT OUT RIVALS
Defending champs Saratoga top Shen, move to 6-0
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The defending Section II boys tennis champs Saratoga Springs continued its winning ways with a sweep of rival Shenendehowa Monday afternoon on the road.
The Blue Streaks (6-0) won eight out of nine matches in straight sets.
The exception was No. 2 singles where Seungmin Kim battled the heat and illness to overcome the Plainsmen’s Andy Bindelglass, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to complete the sweep.
“They’ve been able to come out and get ahead early and take advantage of that,” Saratoga Coach Tim O’Brien said. “As a group they are motivated, you don’t have to say too much to them at all because they have a goal in their mind and you see it on the court.”
Saratoga Springs senior No. 1 singles player David Romano faced a familiar foe in Shenendehowa’s Jonathan Frutschy.
“He’s a guy that I’ve played with since I started back in eighth-grade and we’ve kept play-
ing all the way up and even during the off-season this year brought us together and he’s a great competitor,” Romano said. “Our matches are always close and I’m always happy to take the court against him.”
On Monday, the lefthanded Romano won 6-2, 6-2 and continued to hone his game from his side of the court.
“I try to take as a big an advantage off my leftinees,” Romano said. “One of the biggest things I worked on during this off-season was taking that serve on the ad (left) side, kicking it out just so that I can try and move in and swing it back crosscourt.
“It was something I worked on with both Coach O’Brien and a couple of my coaches in the off-season and I think it helped me out a lot.”
The defending team tennis champs didn’t take any time off after their high school wins, playing throughout the summer and during the winter at the Wilton Branch of the Saratoga Regional YMCA.
“Any time you get kids out playing something, it doesn’t matter what sport it is playing something they love and doing it day in day out, season in season out, it’s going to make a difference,” O’Brien said.
The Blue Streaks bring a seasoned group back to the 2017 campaign with seniors at No. 1 (Romano), No. 2 (Kim) and No. 4 (Max Lee) singles.
(They) have been with us a long time,” O’Brien said. “Having David up top, Max, their leadership, it’s been great to see them come back as seniors and really step their games up. It’s just fun to watch.”
The Blue Streaks aren’t satisfied with last year’s title. The squad wants another championship.
“We’ve been together, most of us for four or five years now and we all love rooting each other on, we love to see each other succeed and I think if we keep that mental game tough, we keep playing consistent in tough games we’ll come out on top,” Romano said.
A 9-0 win on the road against rival Shenendehowa at the midway point of the spring season is a positive sign for O’Brien’s squad.
“This was a great test for us today and every match we play going forward is just going to get tougher for these guys, but they keep stepping up which is nice to see,” O’Brien said. “I think at some point, sure whenever you’re on the tennis court by yourself there’s pressure, but it’s how they deal with it and they’re ability to mature over the years has been evident out there. You see that in the leadership, not just by the seniors, but by the other kids that have been with us for a while too.”