St. Ed’s varsity boys tennis team started this season by getting thumped 7-0 in a match with Vero Beach High at Riverside Park last week, and if irony repeats itself, good things are destined to follow.
An identical whitewash to VBHS opened the season a year ago, and everyone is counting on a similar response from the team this time. The 2014 Pirates won nine of their 11 remaining matches and claimed the district championship.
“The expectations for the boys are once again very high,” Head Coach Alet Filmater said. “I do expect them to win the district championship again this year. I don’t really know what the other teams have, but based on our team and what I can do for our boys, we think we have a very good chance of winning it again.”
Filmater said the rotation against VBHS was “pretty much what you are going to see for the rest of the year.” Senior newcomer Howard Bi takes over at #1 while senior returnee Jeb Wild settles in at #2, his position from a year ago. Sophomore Jeffrey Bi at #3 moves down from the top spot last year. Eighth grader John Atwater started at #4 and freshman Juan Torres at #5.
“I’m going to add (sophomore) Jonathan Temple to that list,” Filmater said. “Jonathan will probably be #4 with John Atwater at #5. Juan Torres will not be out of the mix. He’s an exceptional volleyer and that will definitely be an asset in doubles.”
Junior Nishanth Chalasani and sophomore Shayhaan Shaikh formed the doubles team against VBHS.
An unusually large roster of 15 includes five freshmen not likely to see much action in matches, but that’s part of the master plan for the future.
“It’s nice to know that as the seniors graduate, the freshmen will fit into our team,” Filmater said. “That’s why I believe in a no-cut policy. It enables us to let the younger players mature gradually as we groom them to move up.”
The top two players in the rotation can be counted on as role models and for the youngsters, both on the court and in the classroom.
“As a returning senior, Jeb Wild is my team captain,” said Filmater. “He has a very good work ethic and is capable of helping to carry our team. He played very well and was right in that match against Vero.” Jeb was on the short end of hard-fought 6-2, 6-3 sets.
“Howard (Bi) has been such a joy to work with,” Filmater said. “He is also one of our top students. I know he recently interviewed with Harvard, but his first choice is Princeton. He sets a great example for the students at school and for our tennis team.”
Jeffrey Bi gladly ceded top billing to his older brother Howard for a variety of reasons. Tennis was the force that reunited the siblings after an extraordinary family odyssey that began in China and included such exotic and faraway destinations as New Zealand, New Jersey and Chicago.
My parents are both from China,” Jeffrey explained. “Mom moved to New Zealand because of the government’s ‘one child’ policy. My parents met in college there and came to America.”
His parents settled in New Jersey while his father was studying for an advanced degree at New York University. That academic trail would eventually lead to the University of Chicago. Howard was born in Chicago; Jeffrey was born in New Zealand; and sister Emily, now 11, was born in New Jersey.
“That’s when we finally started to settle down and play some tennis,” Jeffrey continued. “Four years ago my tennis coach in New Jersey recommended that we come down to Florida and visit a tennis academy. At that time we learned that my sister had an immense talent for the sport. She could beat almost everybody in her age group. We realized that the training in New Jersey just couldn’t keep up due to the seasonal nature of the sport.
“The decision was made to move my sister and mom down to Florida for tennis. I moved down a year before my brother and dad. Everyone is here now and we are all reunited.”
Jeffrey enrolled at St. Ed’s as a freshman. Howard will have but one year as a Pirate and he has made a huge impression in a short time.
“This team is a lot stronger than it was last year,” Jeffrey said. “Having my brother on the team is absolutely amazing. I think we can take the district title without having as much trouble as we did last year.”
Team Captain Jeb Wild concurs, adding “Howard is a very good player. Groundstrokes are my real bread and butter and he plays the same way I do. He has a good serve and hits hard from the baseline. The fact that’s he a lefty helps too – that switches things up a bit for the opponents.
“This is a very promising year. We have the talent to win districts again. Our coach has faith in us, my teammates think we can win, so the optimism is there.”