Sussex Academy tennis teams wrap up seasons on heaters
Before both Sussex Academy tennis teams defeated Seaford 5-0, the boys and girls commanding the courts honored Nathan VanPelt, the lone senior on either team.
“It was fun having the girls' team here just to support me as well,” VanPelt said. “It was nice to see my dad come to the game because it was his first game of the season, so it was just nice having that extra support.”
As he has done for the Seahawks all year, VanPelt held down first doubles with Kieran Probert and soared to a 6-0, 6-1 win. The other doubles pair, Logan Mattie and Leo Benz, secured their point with 6-0 sets.
In the boys’ singles, JP Eichten wrapped up an undefeated season with duplicate 6-3 sets against a tough Jaime Roblero-Puac. Eighth-graders Jack Feinstein and Charlie Bowman also handled business to help secure the shutout victory.
The team has come a long way since it went winless two seasons ago.
“It was just fun witnessing everybody get better every season,” VanPelt said. “I'm a big part of that because I'm the oldest and they kind of look up to me.”
On the girls' side, juniors Karina Lopez and Priya Haldar remained scorching hot with a pair of 6-0 victories each, and eighth-grader Macy Wheatley clinched the Seahawks’ victory with a 6-1, 6-0 victory in third singles.
Jumping over to the doubles side, duo Gia Berberian and Natalia Gatti, both freshman, were rewarded for their recent work with a 6-2, 6-1 win. Freshman Ryan Shipp and junior Emma Feagans broke into the winner’s circle with back-to-back 6-1 sets to secure the 5-0 win over the Blue Jays.
“I'm really proud of my team this season, especially because they're so young and a lot of them are very inexperienced,” Lopez said. “We did really well, and I'm really excited to see how much we will improve next season because we already improved so much this season.”
The boys end the regular season 10-2 and on a nine-match win streak. They will wrap up their conference play in the Henlopen Conference Championship at Caesar Rodney May 9-10.
Winning their last six matches, the girls finish 7-5 and will participate in the conference championship at Cape High May 9-10.
Aaron Mushrush joined the sports team in Summer 2023 to help cover the emerging youth athletics scene in the Cape Region. After lettering in soccer and lacrosse at Sussex Tech, he played lacrosse at Division III Eastern University in St. David's, PA. Aaron coached lacrosse at Sussex Tech in 2009 and 2011. Post-collegiately, Mush played in the Eastern Shore Summer Lacrosse League for Blue Bird Tavern and Saltwater Lacrosse. He competed in several tournaments for the Shamrocks Lacrosse Club, which blossomed into the Maryland Lacrosse League (MDLL). Aaron interned at the Coastal Point before becoming assistant director at WMDT-TV 47 ABC in 2017 and eventually assignment editor in 2018.
