Ava Rae Gurievsky

Junior tennis players Yousef Mansour-Barillas and Jayden Patel high-five after a point. The team began practicing at Lake Vista Recreation Center this year.

     This season, the Shorecrest boys and girls tennis teams look a little different. With several seniors from last year graduating and a change of home court location and coaching staff, some student-athletes worry changes have hurt their team. 

     The first major shift is the change in court location. For multiple years, the tennis teams have practiced and held matches at the Racquet Club of St. Petersburg, which is a two-minute drive away from Shorecrest. However, after undergoing a change in leadership, the Racquet Club decided to end the partnership with Shorecrest tennis. Starting this year, the teams practice at Lake Vista Recreation Center, located 30 minutes away.

     This location change creates a much longer commute for the teams, who go to practice after school every day.

     “It’s unfortunate to have to play that far away, especially when we have practices that are only an hour and a half long, but it takes a half hour to even get to the courts,” senior tennis player Jimmy Schmidt said.

     Most Shorecrest sports teams practice on campus, but the tennis team has never been one of them. It is easy for students to attend games on campus because they can just stay after school. The distance to Lake Vista will likely make it difficult for Shorecrest students to attend tennis matches.

     “I know last year, even though we were playing at the Racquet Club, I still kind of felt like no one cared about tennis,” junior girls tennis co-captain Isabella Jank said. “But since our location was moved even more, it feels like it’s not for Shorecrest anymore.”

     Additionally, this season, both teams have received a new coaching staff. The girls team is now led by former assistant coach Bob Davis after two female coaches departed after last season. Though this is an impactful change for the girls’ team, players are still optimistic and confident in the team that reached the state championships last year. 

     The girls finished the regular season with a 9-2-1 record and are moving onto states.

     As for the boys team, it’s now led by Assistant Director of College Counseling Aidan Steinly, alongside Seventh Grade Social Studies Teacher and returning coach David Hodgson.

     “Our coaches last year and years prior were not really affiliated with Shorecrest, and so it was hard to coordinate things,” Schmidt said. He also emphasized that the current coaches are “accommodating” with players’ schedules, understanding that many of them train outside of Shorecrest practices. 

     So far, both teams are continuing their success despite the changes. Players believe they can maintain multiple constants: teamwork and a bond that stands strong even off the court.

     Jonah Diner, a junior on the boys tennis team, said, “We’re coming in this year [and] I think the vibe is much stronger than it normally is. We have a new coach, … and I think he’s bringing the energy well.”