Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
The Last Stand: West trio finishing tennis career at state
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
West senior tennis players Sanjay Goswami, Parker Cohen and Brian Bulger are having fun during their final week of practice.
Whether prepping to take the court, playing doubles with and against Wolves head coach Morgen Walker or practicing against one another, the boys remain loose and have plenty of time for laughter. But sit down and talk with the trio and the same two words come up again and again: state title.
"It's been a long journey for these guys," Walker said. "You want to get to state and once you are there, of course you want to win that state title."
Winning in Lakeway would put the boys in rare air.
While West has sent numerous entries to the state tournament over the past decade, only three have captured titles. Andy Mack (2003, boys singles); Sergio Antognelli/Chris Bell (2008, boys doubles); and Matt Andrus/Ben Guthrie (2009, boys doubles) each ended the spring with state championships.
Adding Goswami's name to that list would be fitting seeing as how he is the first player in West history to advance to the spring state tournament three times.
"That's a pretty impressive feat," Walker said, "especially when you look at the list of kids who have come through our program."
Winning state is a goal for Goswami, but after playing doubles and losing in the first round the past two seasons, he has an even simpler objective.
"I'm just tired of losing in the quarterfinals," Goswami said.
Reversing that trend won't be easy as Goswami opens the eight-person bracket against McKinney Boyd's Parker McGuiness.
"Parker is a big, strong kid that is a good athlete," Walker said. "Sometimes you get a really good tennis player that is a mediocre athlete or a mediocre tennis player that is a really good athlete, but Parker is both a good tennis player and a good athlete."
Goswami is 1-2 against McGuiness this season, but their history goes far beyond that.
"I have been playing Parker since I was 14," Goswami said. "I know he hurt his back a bit, so that could be a factor, but I don't want to take anything for granted because we usually have close matches. I'm going to have to make sure I play consistently and I'll be looking for the right balls to hit."
Goswami's doubles partner last season was Cohen, who is making his second trip to state. This year Cohen is teaming up with Bulger, who is making his first spring state trip.
"I'm trying to approach this with the same mindset as regionals," Bulger said. "Same mindset and strategy, just against better teams."
The quality foes come right away as Bulger and Cohen open against Katy Taylor's Peter Leung and Ricardo Corona. Though the two teams haven't faced off in doubles, they have in singles, allowing Bulger and Cohen to collaborate on a scouting report.
"They have some big serves," Bulger said, "so we need to keep the ball in and hit smart shorts."
"And I think when it comes down to finishing points, we might have the advantage," Cohen added.
Some advantages would benefit West's pair as they aren't viewed as one of the teams to beat in their bracket, which also includes powerhouse pairs from New Braunfels and Houston Memorial.
"We are the underdogs, but we have a lot of confidence and we've had a good week of practice," Cohen said. "We want to show people that we aren't a joke, we're for real. We've gotten better from the start of district into regionals and now we are one of the top eight teams in the state."
Cohen and Bulger showed Goswami and Walker their high level of play earlier in the week with a sweep (6-3, 6-1, 6-1) over their coach and fellow state qualifier.
"Coach started strong," Cohen said with a chuckle, "but then I think he got tired."
Such entertaining endeavors have punctuated what will be the final week of high school practice for an accomplished senior contingent.
"We had six guys that came in together as freshmen in this class," Walker said, "and these are the last three that are still with us."
The West boys are also hoping to be the last three standing at state.
"It would be nice to win one match," Bulger said, "but it would be really nice to win three."
The Class 5A State Tournament commences Monday in Lakeway, a site famous for its tennis racquet-shaped pool. Prior West squads that won team championships in the fall have enjoyed a post-victory jump into the pool.
"I would definitely do that," Cohen said.
"Yeah, me too," Bulger added.
The boys singles bracket begins at 8:30 a.m. and doubles starts at 10:15 a.m. The quarterfinals and semis are that day with the finals set for Tuesday.
"The level of play rises at state," Cohen said. "And we are hungry."
"Whether it is from team tennis or in individual season, we all know how it feels to make it to state," Goswami added. "But you still get that special feeling when you step onto the court and it makes you want to win even more."
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Plano West «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
