Enfield still undefeated, with a little help from its friends
ENFIELD — The Enfield boys tennis team only had six players last year. Even though the players were good, the Eagles had to forfeit two matches against each opponent because they didn’t have enough people.
Enfield’s No. 1 and No. 3 players, brothers Lukas and Brandon Phimvongsa, play at the Enfield Tennis Club. Some of their friends at the club went to Aerospace, which didn’t have a team. They wondered if their friends would like to join Enfield in a co-operative team, as Somers was already doing.
Their friends said yes, and in April, four Aerospace tennis players were there on the Enfield High courts.
“I had no idea how good they were,” Enfield coach Kim Bender said Friday.
Junior Justin Ho slotted in at No. 2 singles. Mahath Gaddipati, another junior from Aerospace, plays at No. 4. Enfield’s top four singles players are all undefeated, as are the No. 1 and 2 doubles teams.
Friday, the Eagles defeated Tolland 6-1 to go to 8-0.
“I’m a little bit [surprised about being undefeated], and a little not,” said Lukas Phimvongsa, a sophomore who is ranked No. 1 in USTA New England in the 14U age group. “I knew we were all great players. I knew we all had the potential, but it’s just in terms of doing it, right? I’m glad we have great chemistry.”
Bender, Enfield’s assistant field hockey coach, is in her second year coaching the tennis team. She is not a tennis player, she said. In fact, when the boys tried to teach her to play last year, it didn’t go well.
“Let’s just say I’m better at organizing,” she said, laughing. “I organize them, and then my top players will do drills — I say, ‘OK guys, I saw that we need to work on serves — let’s come up with a drill for serves or forehands.’
“They come up with the drills and run the drills and they help each other. I have three kids who have never played before and they’ll split up and take them, ‘OK, this is the form; this is how you do this,’ so they’re coaching each other.”
So far it’s worked out well. Enfield has qualified for the state tournament already. The Eagles have
beaten teams they lost to last year — they beat Southington 7-0 after losing 7-0 to the Blue Knights last season and they’ve beaten Granby and Conard too.
“We’re glad to be able to play together,” Ho said. “It’s honestly a stroke of luck. They said, ‘We can’t field a whole team,’ and there were four of us who really wanted to play. We did not have a team.
“It’s fun. Great friendships.”
Taylor Byo, a senior from Somers, also plays at the Enfield Tennis Club. When she moved to Somers in the middle of her junior year, she had to play with the boys because the Enfield girls don’t have a co-op with Somers. She had so much fun last year, she came back this season and plays No. 2 doubles.
“We had six people [last year], but I had a really good time,” Byo said. “It wasn’t what I expected at all. I talked to my mom about pushing for a girls co-op, but they’re my team. And we’re doing really well this year.”
This week will be a big test: Enfield will face undefeated Hall on Wednesday and unbeaten Ellington on Friday.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Ho said.