- April 24, 2024
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Mary Kwetkus focuses on returning the ball during the match against her Father Lopez opponent. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze tennis coach Trishna Patel. Photo by Michele Meyers
First year Seabreeze tennis player Bryce Gornto serves the ball to his Father Lopez opponent. Photo by Michele Meyers
Tennis player Will Reece during Seabreeze's match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Sandcrabs Will Reece, Akshay Gupta and Carson Chiumento cheer for the Seabreeze girls tennis players. Photo by Michele Meyers
Claudia Venables eyes the ball for the return during Seabreeze's match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Haylee Ochipa and Claudia Venables congratulate each other during their doubles match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Haylee Ochipa and Claudia Venables talk after winning their doubles match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mary Kwetkus and her Father Lopez opponent change the score before switching sides. Photo by Michele Meyers
Senior Mac Chiumento launches the ball for the serve against his Father Lopez opponent. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mac Chiumento with a backhand during Seabreeze's match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ewan Noval returns a serve during Seabreeze's match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ewan Noval fist bumps Leo Kwetkus after his match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze tennis player Geraldine Garcia during her match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze tennis player Geraldine Garcia serves during her match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze coach Trishna Patel talks tennis on the sidelines with Mac Chiumento. Photo by Michele Meyers
First year Seabreeze tennis player Bryce Gornto returns the ball to his Father Lopez opponent. Photo by Michele Meyers
Akshay Gupta returns the ball to his Father Lopez opponent. Photo by Michele Meyers
Riya Arab returns the ball during Seabreeze's match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Sandcrab Riya Arab concentrates during her doubles match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze tennis coach Trishna Patel talks to her team after the match against Father Lopez. Photo by Michele Meyers
For Seabreeze’s first-year tennis coach, Trishna Patel, the goal was to build camaraderie and create a team. The result has been an undefeated team — the boys and girls were both 7-0 — after a sweep of Father Lopez on March 3.
“The game plan was to have a lot of joint matches,” she said. “I really wanted the girl and boy athletes to watch and learn from each other. Also, I wanted them to understand how their particular games are different. Marry the two ideas.”
Last year, Seabreeze’s head coach Robert Holtgrewe retired at the end of the season. Patel was encouraged by friends to seek the position, and after navigating the school system requirements, she landed the job. She has been running a local junior tennis program for five years called the Trailblazers and had already been training some of the Seabreeze players. It was a natural fit.
“I want them to get comfortable as friends first. That translates into winning close matches — pulling them out. You actually go the distance for friends in doubles and singles. When we are all fighting for the best of seven points, it’s not any one individual.”
TRISHNA PATEL, Seabreeze tennis coach
“Tennis is a sport of life,” Patel said. “My number one passion is to train student athletes.”
In terms of her experience regarding team tennis, Patel knew what to expect and how she planned to run the team her first season. She attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in high school, now known as the IMG Academy, then played Division I tennis at Brown University. In 1997, Brown made its first appearance in the NCAA championships, and the same year, Patel was named Ivy League Player of the Year.
Qualifying for the state championships in April with his team, remains a goal for Seabreeze senior Mac Chiumento. His record this season after the Lopez match was 8-2 with the losses coming in one single and one doubles match against Daksh Talati of University High School. Chiumento’s favorite match this season was a grueling two-and-a-half-hour singles match with Talati.
“I played him in doubles and I was thinking this kid is so good,” he said. “I was down 2-5, came back 6-6 and he ended up winning 8-6. I have to beat this kid. The answer is keep training and get more confidence in myself. That’s 90 percent of it. You’ve got to know you can do it.”
Moving forward, Patel wants her players to gel with each other even more to create a solid foundation for teamwork.
“I want them to get comfortable as friends first,” she said. “That translates into winning close matches — pulling them out. You actually go the distance for friends in doubles and singles. When we are all fighting for the best of seven points, it’s not any one individual.”
