Westfield celebrates opening of new tennis courts by starting season with victory
By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Tennis legend Billie Jean King’s famous quote – “Pressure is a privilege” – came into play for the Westfield boys tennis team on Tuesday.
Westfield No. 1 singles player Parker Paramoure won his match 6-0, 6-0. (Richie Hall)
The Shamrocks were playing the first official match at Westfield’s long-awaited new tennis facility, taking on North Central. Shamrocks coach Tony Peters admitted there was some pressure competing for the first time, since there were many people attending the dual meet.
But there was no need to worry. The Rocks brushed aside the pressure and got the privilege of a season-opening victory, beating the Panthers 4-1. Westfield got dominant performances from its three singles players to clinch the win early.
“I think the singles guys settled down a little quicker,” said Peters. “I know we had a couple of those singles guys come out and they’re like, ‘I’m nervous.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be nervous because there’s more people here watching this match than you’ve ever had.’
The Shamrocks’ No. 1 singles player, junior Parker Paramoure, was the first player to win a match at the facility, getting a 6-0, 6-0 shutout. Freshman Luke Stoecker followed that with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles. Junior Ajay Prasanna clinched the meet with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles.
“Parker actually played that kid last year and won in two sets, but I think it was like 7-5, 6-2, or something like that,” said Peters. “And so this year, to go 0-and-0, that shows what Parker’s able to do, what his ability is. He played really well tonight.
“Luke Stoecker, who’s our freshman who’s definitely been battle-tested in USTA (matches), he came out here and got his first win. Ajay is our 3 singles guy. He played really well. He had some tough points, but he battled and he was great.”
In the doubles matches, Westfield’s No. 2 team of seniors Jake Juntgen and Jack Brennan won 7-5, 6-1. The No. 1 doubles team, seniors Jay Hostetter and Parker Gibbs, lost 7-5, 6-1.
The meet took place after a ceremony to officially cut the ribbon on the new facility. There are 15 courts available, and a giant scoreboard with updated scores on each match. Members of the Westfield school board were there, along with Westfield athletic director Andy Tebbe and Shamrocks girls tennis coach Trudy Coler.
The tennis courts are post-tension concrete, which Tebbe said “is the only way to go to build new tennis courts. In theory, we won’t have to worry about cracks, or anything like that.” As for the scoreboard, Tebbe said “we just felt like this was a venue worthy of having something.” It will allow spectators to keep up with the action on each court.
“Having that scoreboard will just be so fan-friendly and just add an element of, this is a great facility, for not just our kids, but for the community.”
A new scoreboard will help tennis fans to keep up with the action. (Richie Hall)
“It’s really exciting for the programs, for boys and girls tennis,” said Coler. She also pointed out that it’s “exciting for the community, because these are community courts. People from the community can come up here and play. They can use the courts.”
In addition, Westfield Youth Sports (WYSI) will be using the courts for its youth programs, ages 5 to 14. Coler said these new courts will “build the next generation of tennis players for the high school. And this is a big tennis community, so it’s exciting for the community.”
Westfield is back in action tomorrow, hosting Guerin Catholic.