By Arjun Khanna ‘23, Sports Editor

The 2023 NA Boys Varsity Tennis Captains 

Joshua Mandelbaum’24 (left), Andrew Kotzen’24 (middle), and Ethan Polen’23 (right)

It was June 9th, 2022, and the score was tied. Victories over East Brunswick led by the Kotzen brothers – Nick Kotzen at first singles and Andrew Kotzen at third singles – had positioned the Minutemen to win yet another Tournament of Champions (TOC) title. This TOC was perhaps even more significant as it was the last one to ever be held.

The pressure lay completely on the shoulders of second singles. Shouts of “Let’s go NA!” could be heard frequently as Joshua Mandelbaum’24 got ready for a backhand return. The serve flew out wide but Mandelbaum got to it, hitting a backhand that would win the match. NA went on to lose both matches at first and second doubles, but wins at first, second, and third singles ultimately propelled the team to victory. With back-to-back TOC title victories, NA Varsity Boys Tennis cemented their legacy as the best team in the state, and, arguably, one of the best teams in the nation. 

The 2021-2022 NA Boys Varsity Tennis team packed a powerhouse lineup with numerous players possessing a universal tennis ranking (UTR) above 9, a ranking impressive enough for college-level tennis. At one point, the team was collectively ranked as #1 in the nation by UTR, with a combined UTR of 61.85 amongst the starting lineup. The 21-22 Boys’ team, however, was very senior heavy, driven by its Captains – Saif Prabhu’22, Andy Nagpal’22, and Nick Kotzen’22 – all of whom were in the starting lineup. Now, as the 2022-2023 season approaches, the NA Boys Tennis team faces the challenge of maintaining their undefeated record in the absence of the class of 2022 seniors. 

Despite possessing a much younger team, the Varsity captains and coaches remain optimistic. When asked about the current state of the team, Captain Andrew Kotzen’24 said, “Obviously we’re gonna miss having the seniors on the team this year but I think we’ve gained a couple really good younger guys that we’re excited to welcome to the team and get to know better.” Kotzen’24 has also been training and competing in national-level tennis tournaments in preparation for the Boys season such as the US Tennis Association (USTA) National Winter Championships and the USTA National Clay Court championships. 

Coach Scerra is also confident that the Boys Varsity tennis team will thrive under the leadership of the new captains and will be able to achieve similar success as in past years. Coach Scerra said, “I’m very excited about the season that’s coming up in the spring. As usual we have a very talented group of players who are all looking to get better. We did graduate some very impactful seniors but we also have some really talented underclassmen that are going to step in and I know will contribute as well. Every year we’re focusing on getting better every day and being the best team that we can be starting March 13th all the way to June 10th and that’s what we’re going to do this year as well.”

The Boys Tennis team always thrives on having members of the NA community cheering them on at home games and away games when possible, so make sure to come out and support. Let’s go, NA!