McDonogh Varsity Boys' Tennis

For the 1990 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1991 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1992 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1993 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1994 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1995 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1996 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1997 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1998 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 1999 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2000 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2001 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2002 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2003 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2004 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2005 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2006 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2007 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2008 McDonogh tennis record, click here.
For the 2009 McDonogh tennis record, click here.

History of the team

While older records are frustratingly incomplete, we do know that the Varsity Boys' Tennis Team has a distinguished history; in recent years, remarkable. From 1987 through 2009, the team's record is 340 wins and 49 losses overall, 246 wins and 17 losses in the league (MSA then MIAA), with A Conference Championships in 16 of those 24 years, second place in 6 others. A few highlights in that time: Four undefeated years in a row (1987-1990); 1997's record of 21-1 with an MIAA title and 2nds at NEMA (New England/Mid-Atlantic tournament) and the National Prep Team Championships; 1999's record of 19-1 with 1st place finishes in the MIAA, NEMA, and National Prep; and 1993 when the team became the only team ever to win individual championships in all six singles draws at the end of year MSA tournament (the format has since changed). The 2010 season had its problems (see the details below) but won both the Woodberry Forest and NEMA Invitationals.

Alumni of the team have often distinguished themselves in tennis after graduation. Many have played in college (like Alberto Diaz '89, who played # 1 at Washington College and was ranked # 11 in Division III, or Chris Chiu '99 and Haris Causevic, who played # 1 and # 2 at McDonogh for a time and later found themselves playing # 1 and # 2 for the University of Maryland). Some have gone on to play USTA tournaments even long after graduation (like Ken Voelker '73, who is still competing - and winning!). Some have played beyond college (like Steve Sullivan '90, who played in a number of satellite events). Some have made tennis a career (a number coach; one, Jeff Lamborn '67, has had a successful career playing, coaching, and, now, constructing tennis courts).

Recent #1 players Mark Gober '04, Andy Peters '07, and Alexander Centenari '08 have done very well since graduation. Mark had four fine years playing at Princeton, where he was a co-captain of the team. Xander Centenari had a terrific year after graduation playing in tournaments around the globe and now plays for Dartmouth. Andy, a three time ITA academic All-American at Middlebury, played #1 singles in 2010 and let them to the NCAA Div. III championship, garnering All-American status in the process.

McDonogh's most famous tennis graduate, of course, is Pam Shriver '79. While Pam had a successful career on the team (she is one of three girls who played on the boys' team in the early years of coeducation at McDonogh - the others are Donna Preston Sturtz '84 and Keri Fischer; the girls' tennis team was formed in 1981), her career blossomed off campus. Even before she graduated Pam made history, becoming as an amateur the then youngest (at age 16!) finalist at the U.S. Open, where she beat Martina Navratilova in the semi-finals and lost to Chris Evert in the finals. In singles Pam went on to win 21 professional titles and attain a # 3 singles world ranking. In doubles she won Olympic gold with Zina Garrison, a record 109 straight matches with Martina Navratilova, and a number of Grand Slams. A past member of the board of McDonogh and numerous other non-profit organizations including the USTA, and host of her own fund-raising tennis event in Baltimore (for more information, go to BCF Tennis Challenge), Pam has spent much of her career giving back. Her distinguished career on and off the court earned her membership in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002.

2003 Highlights

Despite a late snow-impeded start and a wet season since, the 2003 McDonogh Boys' Varsity Tennis Team started well. After only squeezing by Lawrenceville in '02, in '03 we swept them. And after being crushed by Landon (7-0) in '02, we won while losing only two matches to them (both 4-6 in the third!).

With the St. Alban's tournament in disarray, we accepted a bid to the Woodberry Forest Invitational (in Charlottesville), an event we played in only once some years ago. While we finished well, we started poorly and ended up a satisfactory 4th (of eight teams from Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee).

At the NEMA's the team also performed admirably, coming in 5th of 16 teams from 7 states. Back home, we headed directly into the play-offs, breezing into the finals -- now 11-0 on the year -- to face a determined Gilman team, one we had beaten the week before 3-2. The Greyhounds unfortunately prevailed in a nailbiter full of three-setters and tie-breaks.

Somehow, the season ended on a real highlight, with # 1 Mark Gober (SGA president his senior year) winning the # 1 MIAA Individual Championship and dominating the field.

In other news, the courts were resurfaced, with the three middle courts (behind the stadium) converted to two with permanent seating (in fact, we now have bleachers on all seven tiers of courts). So we are down to 20 courts but looking somewhat better!

Also, while McDonogh still hosts the Baltimore Wheelchair Tennis Classic, the Maryland State Junior Outdoor Championships, and the McDonogh Junior Open, we will added in May the USTA National BG 12s Open Championships. Held in part as a fundraiser for Campaign for Our Children and the Baltimore Tennis Patrons, some high profile folks are associated with it, with Maryland First Lady Kendel Ehrlich doing radio spots and chairing the Honorary Committee (which includes Pam Shriver, Peter Angelos, Jim McKay, John Paterakis and many other luminaries). She also participated in the awards ceremony, as did Martha Head, who sponsored the Howard Head Sportsmanship Award given in honor of her late husband, the innovative inventor and developer of Head Skis and the Prince tennis racquet.

2004 Highlights

The team ended the 2004 season 14-0 with impressive out of conference wins over Haverford, St. Albans, and Lawrenceville. Weather made meeting Landon, probably the toughest foe out there, impossible, however.

Perhaps the highlight of the season was the play of number one singles player and 2003 Sun Player of the Year Mark Gober. And the Princeton-bound senior and SGA President’s biggest win, perhaps, was the three-hour finals of the Tiger Ferris Tournament, where he beat DeMatha’s Aaron Carr 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), thus securing both the tournament MVP trophy and team championship trophy.

The team finished the season with a credible 4th place finish (of 16 teams) at NEMAs and with three of five champions (both doubles teams and Andy Peters at # 3) in the MIAA end of year tournament, where numbers 1 & 2 Gober and Shalin Parikh both were finalists.

2005 Highlights

The 2005 McDonogh School Varsity Boys' Tennis team repeated as MIAA A Conference Champions, nearly swept the MIAA Individual Championships, and came very close to winning the NEMA (New-England Mid-Atlantic Invitational) for only the second time ever.

The team's early losing efforts against non-league opponents Bullis and Lawrenceville reflected the loss of its three senior leaders, including the numbers one and two singles players, as did its fourth place finish at the Woodberry Forest Invitational, the highlight of which was Matt Ford's successful championship run at number three singles.

After those learning experiences, however, the team was undefeated in dual matches, finished a close second (24 1/2 points to the 25 of NY's Dwight School) at the NEMA (twelve teams from seven states), with Andy Peters the number one singles champion and Austin Brodie and Alexander Centenari the tournament doubles champions, and dominated the MIAA Individual Championships, winning four of the five draws (winners were Peters at #1, Ford at #3, Brodie & Centenari at #1 doubles, and Jeremy Bengson & Steve Wexler at #2 doubles; Joel Posner was the #2 singles finalist).

The highlight of the season was, of course, the league championship match against the always formidable challenge from Gilman, won by a final score of 3-2 after an exciting series of three-set duals. With everyone back except doubles specialist Brodie, 2006 looks promising.

2006 Highlights

While there were some disappointments in 2006, there were also some highlights: Beating Lawrenceville and Landon to start the season, revenging an early season loss to St. Paul’s with a win in the play-offs, and finishing a surprising second place (with Matt Ford taking the # 3 singles title) in the 10th Annual NEMA Invitational, which even more surprisingly migrated from its home for the past nine years, Blair Academy (NJ), to McDonogh, where it looks as if it will stay for some time to come, especially now that alumnus Steve Thacker, '84, has kindly donated an amazing sterling silver Revere bowl to serve as the NEMA Team Sportsmanship Award, an award never given before and appropriately won in its inaugural year by Blair.

Two new arrivals gave the team some different character in 2006: Erik Schenk, who came to McDonogh as an exchange student from Germany and had great success at # 1 doubles with Steve Wexler, and new JV Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach Jason Clark, whom we hope to have around for some time to come as well. Sophomore Alexander Centenari emerged as our new # 1 with seniors Joel Posner and Matt Ford again completing the singles trio in the two and three spots.

We were saddened by the last-minute cancellation of the Woodberry Forest Invitational, always a team favorite, and we were absolutely stymied by a Gilman team that Coach Jim Busick repeatedly called his best in his twenty-seven years as coach. We agreed. They really were tough, and will be again in 2007. Stay tuned!

2007 Highlights

While the 2007 version of the McDonogh Varsity Tennis Team was considerably strengthened by the return of Andy Peters to the fold, Gilman again, predictably, proved too strong for the Eagles when they met for the 21st time in the last 22 years in the MIAA finals. The only consolation, which was also the highlight of the season, was Andy’s revenge win over Stanford-bound Gilman # 1 Ted Kelly in the MIAA Individual Championships. Down 4-1 in the first and looking absolutely dominated, Andy roared back, taking 11 of the last 12 games to win 6-4, 6-1. The win catapulted him to become the 2007 Baltimore Sun Player of the Year, an honor he also captured in 2005.

Other bright spots included third place finishes at both the Woodberry Forest and NEMA Invitational Tournaments, in both of which Xander Centenari captured the #2 Singles titles. On the darker side, the team ended 0-4 in out of league dual match competition, losing three of those matches in entirely uncharacteristic 3-4 fashion (several times after being up 3-0 in the first matches to come off the court).

2008 looks promising, however, with the return of Centenari at #1 (the position he held in 2006) and an incoming freshman class that is making the coach put off any thoughts he might have had of retiring any time soon!

2008 Highlights

The 2008 campaign started tentatively, with a narrow loss to Lawrenceville, 3-2, but rather than a harbinger of disaster, it ended up simply being the sole black mark on an otherwise undefeated season highlighted by the fine play of graduating senior captain and Sun Player of the Year Alexander Centenari and the emergence of our own Fab Four: a coterie of freshmen who came to the team with great promise . . . and then lived up to it! Also contributing was the much improved play of senior Greg Miller and junior Seth Cassel.

The wins did not come easy against perennial rival Gilman in either the regular season or championship match, both won 3-2. In the first encounter, #2 doubles had to crawl out of a considerable hole to eke out an 8-6 edge in the third set tiebreak. In the MIAA Individual Championships, McDonogh took top honors at #1 and #2 Singles and # 2 Doubles – again a kind of 3-2 win over Gilman.

At our other tournaments, we took a disappointing 4th at the Woodberry Forest Invitational and 3rd at the NEMA. Highlights at WF were Centenari & Sidney winning #1 doubles and Centenari getting to the finals at #1 singles (as Sinnott and Lazer did at #3 doubles). At NEMA, Centenari (#1 singles), Sidney (#2 singles), and Sinnott and Lazer (#2 doubles) all were champions.

2009 Highlights

The 2009 season was marked with injuries, a record four, with the first coming the afternoon before our first match. In response, we had to call up a JV player (who filled in ably!) and find new ways to cope with a demanding season. The result had some downs - a disappointing finish both at the Woodberry Forest Invitational (5th place) and NEMA (6th place), but also had some highs. The biggest surprise was to see the team absolutely peak right at the end of the season, resulting in a most satisfying win in the finals of the MIAAs against nemesis Gilman, a 3-2 heartbreaker - for them! For us, the culmination of a difficult and trying season. The final record ended up 16-3 overall, 13-1 in the league.

Individual highlights include the spectacular three-set victory for Chris Bell against Gilman (yes, we did get tired of our being referred to as having been saved by the bell). A looming question at the start of the season was whether or not sophomore (and co-captain) Alex Sidney would be able to fill the shoes of graduating #1 Xander Centenari. The short answer was, simply, yes. Alex finished the season 25-1, undefeated in the league and MIAA Individual Championships. His only loss was to Sebastian Fauchet (ranked in the top 100 of the Boys' 18s nationally), of The Harley School (NY) in the finals of the NEMA tournament. So far in his high school career, Alex has lost six sets, three as a freshman, three as a sophmore.

The team's only loss to graduation this year is co-captain doubles specialist Seth Cassel, who will head off to Harvard in the fall. Last year's Fab Four Freshmen became this year's Fab Four Sophomores. They will all return in '10 to anchor the team and continue to build their McDonogh legend. They were much aided this year by newcomer juniors Roshan Patel and Dixon Blue, whose victory against Gilman was key to the championship, and freshman Vibav Mouli, who was a surprising but much welcome addition to the team. Also aiding in the campaign were the efforts of assistant Peter Heffernan, managers Natalie Ferguson and Hannah Kim, and a wonderfully supportive group of parents.

Finally, rain played a role in the spring season of all the sports at McDonogh. Tennis managed to survive, and finish on time, but we did lose a favorite to the weather: the annual Alumni Legends match. Scheduled to appear? Alexander Centenari, Steve Pitler, Rodd Macklin, Mark Ortiz, Alberto Diaz, Steve Sullivan, David Holland, and James McNair! What a line-up!! Oh well: Put next year's match on your calendar now: 3:30 p.m., Friday, April 30, 2010! See you then!

2010 Highlights

The 2010 season had a bit of a Jeckyll and Hyde element to it. The team had unusual success outside of the league but an unusual bit of trouble within it. So the middle of the season provided the most rewards – the winning of both the Woodberry Forest Invitational Tournament, for the first time ever, and the NEMA Invitational, the first time ever with an outright championship (we tied with Milton Academy in 1999).

At Woodberry Forest, the team immediately threw itself into the mix by winning all nine first round matches, making it the team to beat. Defending champion, and frequent Virginia state team champion, Mills Godwin did all it could, but McDonogh prevailed with a final total of 51 points to their 50. In all six singles and three doubles events, the worst McDonogh fared was third place.

At the NEMA, which McDonogh has participated in all of its 14 years, the team also got off to a good start, but the finish was just as tight, with the team garnering 25 points to the 23 points of both Brunswick (CT), which has now finished second in all three of its appearances, and Beacon (NY), winners in 2005, 2008, and 2009 (the only team to win NEMA three times).

Key to the team’s success this year was again the play of Alex Sidney. Alex won his first 51 sets this season, including two to win the #1 singles title at Woodberry against the formidable Max Schnur of Collegiate (VA) and two more to win # 1 over Beacon’s very strong Quinton Vega at NEMA.

The season started less auspiciously with a loss (3-2) to a very strong Mt. St. Joseph team and ended with a pair of losses (3-1 & 3-2) to rival and eventual league champion Gilman. The final insult was a disappointing season-ending MIAA Individual Championships where Alex lost a heart-breaker in the finals (cramping during the 3rd set tie-break) for his only loss of the year and McDonogh was, for the only time we can remember, shut out in all the finals.

2011 does look bright with now rising-seniors Alex, Chris, Tommy, and Jake returning – and looking to avenge this year’s league shortfalls!

Finally, several footnotes to the season. First, a small one, Coach Levy recorded his 300th win (against 49 losses). And, a more important milestone, Harrison Weymouth Jr., McDonogh class of 1936, passed away this spring. A student at both Gilman and McDonogh, he donated the Weymouth Bowl, which is awarded to the winner of the McDonogh-Gilman match each year. A strong supporter of both McDonogh and tennis, he will be missed. As well, on December 6, 2009, we lost Marty McKibbin, who was 82. Among his many other accomplishments, was a long-time McDonogh varsity tennis coach, teacher, and mentor - one of McDonogh's true giants.

Pictures

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