Last season, tennis doubles player Mason Friday teamed up with his brother Cooper, and the duo went undefeated all the way to the WPIAL Class 3A doubles championships, where they finished fourth. Now that Cooper has graduated, Mason has found success again with new partner and fellow junior Ezra Shensa.
The pair is the top doubles duo for the Foxes and, so far, has an unblemished record in section play. The second regular season doubles varsity team is composed of juniors Charlie Larsen and Murugan Ayyanar, who have impressed coach Alex Slezak as first-time varsity players.
While all four athletes started out as singles players at a young age, they put aside their individual ambitions once they got to high school to help the overall team in more collaborative and productive roles.
“This year is different from last year, and so far, Ezra and I have adjusted very well to each other’s gameplay,” says Mason, who looks forward to the upcoming WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 doubles tournament on April 16 and 17. “I would say our strengths as a doubles team is closing at the net and our volleys. Ezra is a very competitive player and always goes out there with his all. He’s been extremely fun to play with.”
Mason continues, “Both of our serves complement our net games extremely well giving us better opportunities to close the ball. Ezra’s forehand and my backhand are definitely our stronger shots back at the baseline. Our consistency and confidence in our shots really helps us as a team as well.”
“Mason and I have great chemistry,” says Ezra, who enjoys how doubles provides more opportunities for strategic play. “My whole life I’ve been a singles player with a singles mentality, so my greatest progress has been learning to trust my partner, and with Mason, it’s easy. We are both highly competitive and focused on winning. We both have high expectations for the rest of the season as well as making a deep run in the WPIAL doubles tournament.”
Murugan and Charlie also have had a successful season so far, although Charlie has occasionally played a flex role playing singles. He recently placed fourth at the section singles tournament.
“Both Murugan and Charlie have been on the team for a couple of years, but this is the first time they have played on varsity, so it’s a new experience for them,” says coach Slezak. “It helps us as a team to have doubles depth to win matches.”
Murugan’s strengths are a strong forehand and his serving skills combine nicely with Charlie’s powerful backhand.
“With our combined skills, both of us can play intensely without having to worry about the opponents hitting one person’s groundstrokes,” Murugan says. “We try to use my serve and Charlie’s net skills to put away the ball quickly.”
The common denominators that bind all four players are their friendships and love of the sport.
“I love playing tennis, and it has been my passion since childhood,” Murugan says. “There is a sort of brotherhood among all of our teammates. Coach Slezak has been a great motivator for us and always works his best to improve our games, such as positioning us when volleying, coming back whenever we lose a set, and preparing for the next set. He has helped me become the doubles player I am now.”
Once the WPIAL doubles tournament concludes, the entire team will strive for another WPIAL Class 3A section title. The Foxes have won 26 section titles since 1967 and five WPIAL team championships, the latest in 2022.