Twins on St. John’s Prep push each other to the top
When envisioning their tennis-playing future at St. John’s Prep, twins Jack and Luke Prokopis did not have to look far for inspiration.
In elementary school, the brothers often attended matches at Prep to watch their older brother Mikey, a four-year varsity starter and two-time captain who graduated in 2018. They would rally with the varsity players after Mikey’s matches ended, soaking in their advice and aspiring to be just like the high school athletes.
Now, Jack and Luke are sophomores for the fourthranked Eagles (6-0), and each is having monster seasons: Jack is 5-1 at second singles, and Luke is 6-0 at first doubles, playing alongside senior Ben Liptak. As freshmen last year, the twins from Lynnfield were paired together at first doubles, teaming up for a 14-4 record.
“The players were always really nice to us when we were maybe 8, 9 years old,” Luke said. “We just wanted to go play with them, and be around them. And we always just kind of had a vision to play on those courts ourselves one day.”
The twins’ longtime private coach, Francisco Montoya, also worked with Mikey for many years. He first remembers Jack and Luke as eager 9-year-olds who would hang around Mikey’s training sessions, retrieving balls and occasionally hopping on the court when given the chance.
After slowly growing into the sport in middle school, in the past two years both have ramped up to practicing almost every day, developing into high school stars and eyeing playing in college.
“They could have hit that typical age, those teenage years, and one could have taken a different path or gone a different way,” Montoya said. “But they sort of picked the same path, and have always had the same commitment to it. That’s very cool.”
Part of that dedication has stemmed from Jack and Luke’s built-in family competition, with each aspiring to match the success of both Mikey and one another.
“There are days where I’m not motivated, or I don’t really want to play,” Luke said. “But then if [Jack’s] going out there, then I kind of have to go out there because then I’m thinking, ‘he’s getting better when I’m not.’”
Luke is a more powerful player and baseline grinder, while Jack plays with strategy and finesse, and also excels moving toward the net. But both have progressed at similar levels, largely because of their ability to train alongside each other at every step.
“Our coaches have always called it like a built-in hitting partner,” Jack said. “When you want to go hit, you always have someone to train with right there.”
Like Mikey, both Jack and Luke are on track to become four-year varsity starters for one of the state’s power programs. And Jack was elected cocaptain ahead of this season, becoming just the second sophomore captain in the 34-year tenure of coach Mark Metropolis at St. John’s Prep.
“To become a captain as a sophomore, that shows what kind of character this kid has,” Metropolis said. “And all the kids voted for him. I mean, that really says it all.”
Both aspire to play in college like Mikey, who played at Holy Cross. And with their rapid progression and high school success, the goal seems obtainable for both players.
“I feel like they’re a little bit ahead of where Mikey was at this age,” said Montoya.
For now, the twins’ focus is on delivering the Eagles’ first Division 1 state title since in 2002.
Prep has already notched impressive wins over reigning Division 2 champion ConcordCarlisle and Division 1 runnerup Westborough, and have other impressive young talent in sophomore Luke Free and freshman John De Angelis, and depth across the lineup.
“Just being out there, after visualizing it for all this time, is awesome,” Luke said. “And hopefully [we] get a state championship — which I have never seen here before — that would just be a super cool thing.”
Extra serves
The 11th-ranked Pembroke girls are among the region’s most-improved teams, following up last year’s 12-8 record and Round-of-16 exit in the Division 3 playoffs with a 6-0 start in 2023.
The Titans’ key addition is freshman Nicole Makarewicz, who is unbeaten at first singles. She’s won every match but one without giving up a single game, with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Duxbury junior Caroline Sutliffe, the reigning Patriot League MVP, serving as the lone exception to perfection.
“She has great acumen with her shots,” coach Jessica Walls said of Makarewicz. “They’re either right down the line or right at the baseline. And she just has a real knack for catching a line and kind of catching her opponent off guard.”
Makarewicz’s arrival has enabled last season’s first and second singles players — sophomore Ruth Dannison and junior
Emma Gerlach — to slide to No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, and both are also undefeated in their new roles.
The Duxbury boys’ unbeaten regular season last year (17-0) ended with postseason heartbreak, falling to Westborough in the Division 2 state semifinals. Off to a 4-0 start again this season, the No. 13 Dragons’ already have exacted some revenge, opening 2023 with a 3-2 victory over Westborough.
All three singles players return from last year’s squad, with sophomore Tim Vargas and senior captain Colby Hall manning first and second singles, respectively, and sophomore Taylor Bettencourt stationed at third singles. The trio is a combined 11-1 this season.
“They think they have a shot [at the state title],” said coach
John Bunar. “And they’re working really hard to prove they can get there.”
More difficult competition is slated for Duxbury this week, with matchups Thursday against Plymouth North (4-1) and Friday against top-ranked Brookline (6-0).