On the weekend of April 30--May 1, the Hopkins boys' varsity tennis team took part in the Fairchester Tennis League
Tournament. Hopkins #1 player, Alex Zackheim, soundly defeated two opponents to gain the semi-finals and all league singles
honors before being barely edged by the #2 seed from Greens Farms Academy in a 3rd set tiebreaker. Lenny Kolstad turned the
tables on Hamden Hall's #1 player, Richard Joseph, 6--3 in the third set before losing in the quarter finals to Zach Hascoe of
Brunswick, the eventual winner of the tourneament.
In doubles play, Nate Lifton and Dan Wong surprised everybody but themselves in toppling the #2 doubles seeds from Greens
Farms Academy in 3 fiercely contested sets. They then went on to defeat Hamden Hall's #1 doubles team in 3 sets before
dropping a 2 set decision in the semi-finals to a strong Brunswick team. Another doubles team, David Zackheim and Dan Spinelli,
advanced to the quarter-finals before dropping a close 6--3, 7--5 d ecision to the top seeded Brunswick doubles team.
But the crown jewel performance of the weekend was turned in by the Hopkins doubles tandem of Adam Sauerteig and Phil
Bernasek. In the semi-finals, they emerged triumphant over the top se eded doubles tea m from Brunswick, 3--6, 6--2, 6--3. Then in
the finals they faced another determined doubles duo from Brunswick, and in a truly roller--coaster match, they persevered to win
the championship by a narrow 7--6 (8--6), 4--6, 6--4 victor y. The last shot (a booming Bernasek service winner) was played on the
Hamden Hall courts at about 7:40 PM on Saturday.
This next Wednesday, on the Hopkins courts at 4 PM, the Hopkins team will be gearing up for a crucial match against G reens
Farms Academy, th e defending New England Prep School "B" division champions. If the tournament matches this weekend are
any indication, the upcoming match should prove to be a barnburner!r¡ü
Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.