The Beckley tennis program has done its due diligence to earn respect the past few years.
Combining the boys and girls teams, the Flying Eagles are now considered one of the top Class AAA tennis programs in the Mountain State.
It wasn’t long ago when that was not the case.
“We were struggling with quality and quantity. We went through some hard times,” Beckley head coach Bernie Bostick said. “Paulette Umberger had done a great job with the program. We just had two or three years where we would have six players, but that was about it. Then we got to where we had some extras. Now we are going pretty good. All of the guys will be back, except one and all of the girls will be back except two next year.”
Not only are the numbers up again this year, the quality continues to get better each year as well.
“We are at the point where people are taking lessons. Even though tennis is not their main sport, they want to get better. As long as they are coming out and getting better, that is what it is all about. We will do what we can,” Bostick said. “We are a top-5 team in the state, playing with part-time athletes that tennis is not their main sport.”
While tennis may be the second sport for many on the team, that is not the case for the top players on the boys team.
Ram Asaithambi and Ethan Shepard dedicate all of their time to tennis and it shows.
Asaithambi finished top-8 in the state last year as a sophomore in singles competition and top-4 in doubles.
“Ram is very dedicated to anything that he does. He is super focused on what he wants to do and is very passionate about the game. He has played since he was four years old and he trains like a college player does,” Bostick said. “He is strong for his size. All of his workouts are focused on playing tennis. He doesn’t play any other sports. He has a coach, other than us, that he plays with a lot.”
Shepard had a big win in his opening state tournament match last year as a sophomore to help lead the boys team to a fifth place finish.
“Ethan has really picked up his game. He has played over 100 matches since the end of season,” Bostick said.
Asaithambi and Shepard will hold down the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions and will combine to play No. 1 doubles for the Flying Eagles.
Joining the talented twosome will be Tyler Radford who had a strong soccer season and was the place-kicker on the football team.
“Tyler is a phenomenal athlete. He is a fighter and won’t give up. He is part of the Umberger clan that plays tennis. They are soccer first and tennis second, but I can live with that,” Bostick said. “He is playing really well. There is a big difference in him between the end of last year and this year.”
Cam Johnson is also back and will likely be the anchor for the No. 3 doubles team. Bostick also likes what he has seen from Nick Fultz and Vince Umberger.
“This is Vince’s first season of competitive tennis, but I am feeling good about him,” Bostick said. “We have some guys that played last year in Sanjeev Polisetty and Tristan Lockhart, along with newcomer, Bryson Merchant. They put in the time and are doing as well as they can possibly do.”
Junior Abby Dillon leads the girls team after just picking up the game as a freshman. An all-state volleyball player, Dillon has quickly developed into one of the top tennis players in the state.
“Abby played all summer and she did well last year. The whole family plays,” Bostick said. “She wants to get better and she takes lessons. She is in the top 10 or 15 players in the state and I look for her to go to states in singles and as a team.”
Senior Presley Jarrell is back and has improved her game over the summer. Bostick feels if they can find the right sport for Jarrell, she can have a successful year.
“Presley is a solid player that has good ground strokes and hits the ball well. She struggled last year because she was over-matched for her age. This year, wherever she plays, she will be pretty tough,” Bostick said.
Beckley will also have two additional volleyball standouts playing tennis in sisters Dalya Hasan (junior) and Anya Hasan (sophomore).
“Dalya has played all summer and is looking tough. She is even tempered and doesn’t let things bother her,” Bostick said. “Anya has a great serve and is super graceful.”
Niyanna Lawson and Izzy Umberger will also see action on the girls side.
“Niyanna is a another solid athlete that also participates in theater. She could play some doubles for us,” Bostick said. “Izzy is an athletic soccer standout and is really competitive. She works hard, can get to any ball on the court and places the ball well.”
Bostick is convinced both the boys and girls teams can make it to the state tournament this season, overcoming obstacles that only they face.
“We are the only Class AAA team that finished in the top-10 that doesn’t have indoor court access and does not have lights. Everybody you look at can play year-round except us,” Bostick said. “The good thing about all of these kids is they want to work on their whole game and get better.”
