In 2023, the Stroudsburg boys’ tennis team posted another successful season, having an 8-9 record by season’s end. Showing in the sub 0.500 record, the team and program have taken some hard losses throughout the last few years including the departures of John Willis (2022), Jackson Kozma (2022), Noah Dickinson (2023), Kamani Hanson (2023), and Luke Torres (2023).
With a younger team, this season will provide a new challenge to head coach Gene Tapiro. Tapiro, who also serves as Stroudsburg’s girls’ tennis coach, has produced multiple EPC Champions over his time in Stroudsburg, including John Willis in 2022 and girls’ tennis star Paraskevi Breigel three straight times from 2019-21. Tapiro said his main goal for the team this season is “to get better each day we take the court.”
The team is led by Will Puskar, 12, and Terrell Butler, 12. Puskar recorded 9 wins in doubles action throughout the 2023 season, which leads the team in wins for a returning player this season. Some other players whom Coach Tapiro noted to look out for this season include Logan Casebolt, 11, Tobias Ricks, 10, and Keshav Prasad, 10.
Their 2024 schedule includes the team’s opening matchup on Monday against Northampton (High School, 3:30 pm), at defending District 11 3A Champions Liberty (4/5, at Liberty, 3:30 pm), and against top rivals Pleasant Valley (4/15, at Pleasant Valley, 3:30 pm).
In 2023, Noah Dickinson, Luke Torres, and Jarred Ruhl were Stroudsburg’s main singles competitors. With all of them graduating last summer, the team will have to rely on the veterans Puskar, Casebolt, Ricks, and Prasad to fill those holes and help Stroudsburg compete at a high level in 2024.
