The St. Louis U. High tennis team has come a long way since losing its season opener to Marquette in a shutout. After a rocky start and roster inconsistencies throughout the season, the Jr. Bills closed out their regular season last week with big wins vs. Chaminade and De Smet and a tough loss to MICDS, bringing their final record to a respectable 6-4 and their conference record to a dominant 5-0. They now prepare for the district playoffs, which begin this weekend.

SLUH’s first win of the final stretch came last week against Chaminade, an MCC rival which was arguably the Jr. Bills’ toughest in-conference competition. Still, SLUH pulled out an 8-1 win against the Red Devils. The team was led by strong performances from its top two players, juniors Gus Tettamble and Henry Dowd, who both won their singles matches 6-1, 6-1. Tettamble’s dominant serve also carried him and sophomore Luke Gund to an easy 8-1 win in No. 1 doubles. 

“I think personally I played well today. (Luke and I) were being really aggressive the whole time, which we were working on at practice together. It was good to be back out here playing,” said Tettamble, who rejoined the roster after sitting out the prior match with a wrist injury.

Further down the rankings, the results were similar, although not without some tougher games. Sophomore Josh Lombardi, playing at the No. 4 seed, and junior Niko Nadreau, playing No. 5, both dropped their first singles sets but rallied back to win the second set and eventually the tiebreak. Nadreau, who initially lost 4-6, came back especially strong to win the next set 6-1 and the tiebreak 10-6. Strong baseline play helped Nadreau secure the win. 

The very next day, the varsity squad travelled back to the courts at Dwight Davis to take on MICDS. From the start, the Jr. Bills anticipated tough competition from the strong program. Plus, Tettamble, remaining cautious about his wrist before district and state matches, sat out once again, leaving Dowd to face MICDS’s strong No. 1 seed in singles. Dowd ultimately lost, but played hard late in his match and won two games with his back against the wall at 1-7, pushing the final score of the set to a more respectable 3-8. Gund, bumped up to No. 2 again, was dealt a similar loss. Doubles fared not much better, as the Jr. Bills dropped all three sets. Nadreau and junior Jake Marison were the only wins of the night for SLUH, both winning their singles matches 8-4. MICDS closed out the match 6-2, leaving the varsity squad to wonder what could have been had Tettamble played.

In their last match of the season this past Monday, the Jr. Bills quickly rebounded from the loss, though, and notched a statement 8-0 win against Jesuit rival De Smet, which completed their sweep of MCC teams this year. Tettamble, back in the lineup, easily won his singles match 8-0 and posted the same score in his No. 1 doubles match with Dowd. In No. 3 doubles, Marison and Lombardi, despite never having played together before, dominated their opponents 8-2. In singles, all of SLUH’s players won by several game margins as the May sun made it the hottest match of the year for SLUH. 

For Tettamble, SLUH’s end of season success is the result of the team’s consistent work throughout the season.

“As a team, I’m very confident in all of us. I think over the past few matches we’ve grown very fast and we’re starting to figure things out both together and individually,” he said.

While the Jr. Bills have officially ended their 2021 season, there is still more tennis to be played. As SLUH finished conference play with the MCC tournament last night, they now shift their attention to districts, which begin this weekend. While the odds for a team district championship are not great, especially against powerhouse teams like John Burroughs, which beat SLUH 7-1 earlier this season, the start of districts is especially significant for Tettamble, who is seeded No. 1 in his district and a favorite to make a run at an individual state title this year. Tettamble, despite his undefeated record in singles this year, expressed some concern about his wrist injury.

“I’m a little nervous, I feel confident in my abilities but a little anxious about the wrist and how that’s holding up. I don’t know what to expect about that,” he said.

Still, though, head coach Brian Kirk and the rest of the varsity team remain confident in Tettamble’s play. 

“We have some chances, obviously Gus is a nice little favorite for districts and I think some other guys have some chances as well. It’s just nice to have everybody in the lineup and ready to play,” said Kirk.