By JASON CHOI
Last spring Michael Dicpinigaitis played a prominent role for Jericho’s boys junior varsity tennis team.
Dicpinigaitis was proud of his team’s performance last season. He said, “Although we did not win the bulk of the matches, I feel that we have learned a lot from the season ranging from the way we play, to sportsmanship, to team pride.” He added that the team grew from all of their different experiences during the season, which ultimately helped them to succeed.
The JV boys tennis team is led by Coach Funes, who has nothing but high praise for Dicpinigaitis. She said, “He is just the fastest athlete I’ve ever had in my life. He really puts his whole heart into our team, and he is a really hard worker. Being a junior on the team, he was a leader, and he really just wanted to win.”
Teammate Richard Z. appreciates Dicpinigaitis’ efforts. “Michael was a hardworking and talented tennis player. He was fun to play with and was a leading figure for the team,” he said.
Dicpinigaitis valued the team’s camaraderie during matches. He said, “The best memory I have of the team is when I and all the teammates were cheering on one player whose match would decide if our team would beat the other team. It was a close match but our teammate got the victory and we all jumped for joy for his win, and were just so happy that all the hard work he put into the match paid off.”
Dicpinigaitis is already preparing for next season when he will be on the varsity team. “I plan to work on improving my basic technique of movements such as forehands, backhands, and serves, as well as working on mental toughness and strategy during matches.”
While he looks forward to varsity play, Dicpinigaitis will miss his junior varsity teammates. “I now realize how much the team meant to me and how, despite our differences, we were all so similar, especially when it comes to the joy of tennis.”