St. Paul's Seeks Consistency

By: Luke Jackson

The St. Paul's tennis team has struggled to find consistent production throughout its lineup thus far in its non-conference and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference schedules.

The Crusaders have been up and down all season with a 6-6 overall record. St. Paul's has a strong 5-1 conference record with its lone loss coming to Gilman, 5-0. Its conference wins have come against Park, Boys' Latin, Mount St. Joseph, Loyola Blakefield and John Carroll.

But the Crusaders have faltered in non-conference play with a 1-5 record.

"My team is very much like a roller coaster," said St. Paul's coach Edward Brown.

St. Paul's had a tough 3-2 victory over Boys' Latin April 1 and then went on to shut out Mercersburg Academy the next day.

"We barely show up against Boys' Latin and hang on for a tough victory," said Brown. "Then, the next day, we play a much better Mercersburg Academy and beat them, 7-0, in a rout."

The Crusaders' rough non-conference schedule included a match with a strong Georgetown Prep team, whom St. Paul's dropped a 4-3 decision to April 9. It also included a match with St. Albans Wednesday, to whom the Crusaders lost, 6-1.

"We played well, and I was both impressed and proud of the toughness we showed," said Brown of his team's play against Georgetown Prep. "Then we lost badly to St. Albans, a team clearly not as good as Prep."

Junior Kevin Gildea has held down the No. 1 singles spot with a 9-3 record, and fellow junior Anand Parikh has a 10-2 record at No. 2 singles.

"Both have been consistent while the rest of the team hasn't," said Brown.

But Brown realizes that his team's record is secondary to his players developing through the season.

"Regardless of our record, they're the nicest and funniest group of guys I've been around in eight years of coaching tennis," said Brown. "We get along well, and we're having fun, which is ultimately a lot more important than winning and losing."

Posted April 18, 2008