The GFS tennis team celebrates after winning the Friends Schools League championship on its home courts.

by Tom Utescher

There were a number of closely matched tennis teams in the Friends Schools League this spring, but the boys of Germantown Friends were able to win the 2017 championship with a pair of 3-2 victories in the FSL tournament in the middle of May.

The top-seeded Tigers, who had not taken the league title since 2000, defeated number four Moorestown Friends on May 16, then prevailed against 2016 runner-up Westtown School, the second seed, on the GFS courts two days later.

Since league member Academy of the New Church does not field a tennis team, there were seven regular-season matches for the Tigers within the FSL. Germantown went 6-1, and was missing one of its regular singles players when it lost to defending FSL champ George School by a 2-3 score.

"I believe that our team was the strongest in the league this year, but not by much," noted GFS head coach Justin Gilmore. "I think that any of the four teams that were in the playoffs had a legitimate chance to win the championship."

In the semifinals against Moorestown, Tigers freshman Henry Ruger maintained his undefeated status at first singles, and the other victories Germantown needed for its 3-2 decision came in pairs play. Senior Jeremy Berman and junior Tim Peterson, unbeaten in the matches they played together, secured the first doubles bout, and at number two junior Gabe Goldberg and sophomore Michael Harrity won for the Tigers.

During the match, though, freshman number two Danny Loder experienced severe cramping, and that night he was actually hospitalized for dehydration. It was Tuesday, and just two days later the Tigers would be playing for the FSL championship against Westtown, which had knocked off George School, 4-1, in the other league semifinal.

GFS, which had junior Zak Schneider playing third singles in almost every contest this spring, would at least have the home court advantage, as the tournament's top seed.

The Tigers' mainstays at first singles and doubles, Ruger and the Berman/Peterson combo, both prevailed over their Westtown foes, but the Moose had also won two matches. The last bout still going was in the second singles flight.

Back in competition for the first time since his trip to the hospital, Loder succumbed in the opening set, 0-6. He refocused and won the second segment at 6-2 to force a third set.

"By the time they split," Gilmore related, "everybody else was done and the team score was tied, 2-2. Second doubles split sets, but Westtown won that one in the third. After that, everybody came over to watch that last singles match. It got to 3-3 in the third, then Danny pulled out the set, 6-3, and we won."

GFS went 11-2 overall, with its only non-league loss coming against Penn Charter while Berman was away visiting colleges. Schneider was temporarily out of the line-up when the Tigers lost to George School during the FSL regular season.

Ruger was rock solid throughout, not only going undefeated, but winning all 26 sets he played. Loder was 11-2 overall and 7-2 in league play, winning 23 sets while yielding just five.

The Friends League foes of GFS don't have much to look forward to next spring, either, since except for Berman, all the Tigers return from the 2017 starting line-up.