After the John Jay Varsity Tennis team finished their 2016 campaign with a 7-5 record in match play, the team looked to be on the rise. With returners such as Travis Laub and Alex van Lent, and newcomers such as Hayden Cassone and Oybeck Asserrov, expectations were the highest they had been in a while.

Behind first year head coach Mark Passman, the team came to meet those expectations, and finished their 2017 spring season with a record of 11-7. The team made major strides, with many younger players improving and getting increased playing time. But, no underclassman stood out more than Assarrov. By the end of the year, Assarrov was playing 3rd singles and 1st doubles, a tremendous accomplishment and display of talent for such a young player. “He was really fun to watch,” junior Justin Sobel said of the 8th grader, “it’s pretty cool too have a young guy have that type of success so quickly at this level.”

As for the upperclassmen, seniors Van Lent and Cassone, and junior Travis Laub made the Section One Tournament for singles. As for doubles, the pairs of senior Stephen Simmes and junior Dimirti Belesakos, and Junior Ben Feinstein and Assarrov also qualified for the Sectional Tournament.

Cassone had the best season of any player on the team. He swept most of the season, not losing one match en route to the New York State Tournament in Flushing, New York. He played well in the tournament before falling in the semifinals. He won the consolation game, and ended up finishing third in the state. This was as far as any John jay Tennis player had made it in a long time.

To sum up the success of the season, Sobel added, “It was a great season, and I was glad to see a lot of success in both singles and doubles.” When asked about the future, Sobel said, “The team’s future looks very promising with the young talent that we have.”