News Staff Reporter
Last month, the Choate Boys Varsity Tennis Team traveled overseas to the country of China. While most Choate students were enjoying their final week of spring break on the beaches down south or in the mountains skiing, the tennis team was hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. The Boys Tennis Team, coached by Ned Gallagher, took advantage of a tremendous opportunity to explore the realms of a very different country and to develop their tennis games. Although going away for the last week of spring break to play tennis doesn’t seem too appealing to most Choate students, the boys who went on the trip had a once in a lifetime experience which allowed them to sample a diverse culture and become better tennis players.
The seven team members--Eliot Jia, Ben Gettinger ‘07, Jack Dagley ‘06, Max Mullen ‘06, Dae Ro Lee ‘07, Cristophe Lirola ’08, and Carr Lanphier ’06--were in China from March 9 to March 19. Of the nine days when the boys were not traveling, three were spent in Beijing sightseeing, while the remaining six were spent in Shanghai playing tennis. The Beijing part of the trip was used for cultural immersion. During this portion of their stay, the boys saw various sights, including the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Great Wall of China, and the Temple of Heaven. “My favorite part of the Beijing experience was going to see an acrobatic and Kung Fu show,” remarked Carr Lanphier ’06.
Another aspect of the tennis team’s immersion into Chinese culture was the food. Prior to the trip most of the boys were skeptical about the food that they were going to be fed, but it did not take long for them to discover that it was excellent. “The food was very good and I feel that the boys were very surprised at how good it actually was,” stated Gallagher.
After three jam-packed days in Beijing, the tennis team headed off to Shanghai to get down to business. “We had very good arrangement with the Shanghai Racket Vlub and the tennis pros who made us feel right at home,” said Gallagher. For the remainder of the trip, the boys played an overwhelming amount of tennis. Everyday there was a minimum of five hours played on the courts plus an additional hour of fitness and conditioning.
“Two of the coaches we had, coached the Australian Davis Cup team. They were both very helpful and informative,” stated Captain Eliot Jia ‘06. The pros gave each individual the attention and the instruction they needed to develop as players.
“Everyone came away feeling good about the improvement in their game with the one week we were there,” claimed coach Gallagher.
In the upcoming season the netsmen would like to continue their 27 match win streak. This appears to be a reachable goal based on this year’s team. “This year we have a lot of depth,” remarked Jia of his team. Last year the team graduated two seniors, so it will look toward last year’s JV players and new additions to take their respective positions. “I am very confident that we are going to have a very successful tennis season,” said Peter Fromson ’06. “We have a much deeper team.”
“There seems to be a good sense of camaraderie,” added Ned Gallagher. Look for this team to continue its juggernaut ways and pose a threat to capture the New England title.
