Noah Terl

Gabriel Fastovsky prepares to return the ball in his match against a WIS student. Fastovsky is the only 6th grader on the varsity tennis team.

Tensions were high at the final match of the boys varsity tennis game that was tied at 2-2 between the Lions and the Washington International School’s (WIS) Red Devils on Thursday, April 3. But, junior Coby Schlactus and sophomore Michael Rubinstein prevailed with a 10-3 doubles match, leading to a 3-2 win against WIS and preserving the Lions’ undefeated streak.

The game started with a win for the Lions when sophomore Jonah Anker beat his opponent 10-2. Anker managed to hold a lead consistently throughout the match, with his opponent making it to two points while he was at five.

This was followed by a loss on the Lions’ end, with junior Josh Dori and sophomore Aviv Stein losing 10-4 in their doubles match. Despite this loss, Dori, one of the two team captains, recalls feeling confident during his game.

“There was no point in the match where I thought we were gonna lose, until we actually did,” Dori said. “…I think that when we did get to the net, we were very strong at the net, and we kind of owned the court up there.”

This was Dori and Stein’s first loss of the season as  doubles partners, but they intend to hone their skills so they can do better next time.

“We’re definitely disappointed, but we think that we can grow from this match,” Stein said. “We can take our mistakes here and build on them and learn how to correct those in future matches.”

The following match was between sophomore Ryan Klepper and another WIS player. The match was driven to a tiebreaker that eventually led to the second and final loss from JDS this meet, with Klepper losing 11-10.

Shortly after Klepper’s match, 6th grade student Gabriel Fastovsky won his singles game, 10-7. Fastovsky is not only ranked first in singles for his team, but is also ranked third in the state of Maryland and 176th nationally. Fastovsky is also the only sixth grade player on the varsity team.

“Having Gabe come in and just immediately be number one singles is exciting for our team,” head coach Alexander Kirsch said. “I’m excited for the future of the team, but it’s also great for his level of play, to push our other players, and they’re able to see how he plays, and they’re able to see the kind of the balls that he hits and how he works through his points, and that has a positive effect on the rest of the team.”

Shortly after, Schlactus and Rubinstein won their match, 10-3, making the final score 3-2, Lions. Kirsch expressed his hope for the future of the team, believing that the Lions are going to keep improving throughout the season.

“We’re playing good tennis, and honestly, the team’s just gonna keep getting better,” Kirsch said.