Westhill Boys Tennis Team Thrives in Underdog Role

STAMFORD, Conn. – The Westhill boys tennis team suffered its first loss of the season on Monday, in a hard-fought 5-2 match against New Canaan. But the positives taken away from the match far outweighed the negatives for a program that has struggled to compete in a very competitive league.

Head coach Patrik Vician said he knows the odds are stacked against his team. With only seven players in the program, going up against powerhouses like New Canaan, Greenwich and Staples, which have varsity and junior varsity teams is always an uphill battle.

“For the last 15, 20 years it’s always going to be one of those three teams. They have stacked rosters and even undefeated we were huge underdogs today,” he said. “It wasn’t about the record today. Losing 2-5 with three matches going to three sets is not bad.”

Vician said the Westhill boys tennis program has always relied on a few dedicated families in Stamford to carry the team. 

“Our program consists of a few enthusiastic kids who play a little more than the spring season. It’s usually brothers and families that pass it down from one generation to the other.” he said. “In Stamford it’s all about baseball and football.”

Westhill’s two wins came from Miles Singer in the No. 3 singles (7-6 [7-4], 6-3) and Prashant Toteja in the No. 4 singles match (6-4, 6-0). Nick Morelli fell in three sets in the No. 5 singles, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. New Canaan swept both doubles matches.

Westhill’s No. 1, Brandon Pomerance, came up just short in a two-and-a-half hour slugfest against New Canaan’s Nick Laub in the match of the day. He fell 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 3-6.

Westhill (8-1) is scheduled to take on city rival Stamford today, but rain in the forecast will likely postpone the match to a later date.

Despite their disadvantages, Vician remains confident the Vikings will make some noise in the league this year. “One of our goals before the season was 11 wins and one win against the big three teams,” Vician said. “I’m pretty confident we can achieve at least one of those goals.”

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