Marchini shines on the court on senior day

Matthew Marchini returns a volley at the net for a winner. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

He has been a fixture on the tennis courts at John Jay, always on the first court playing the first singles match against the top opponent. It’s hard to imagine John Jay tennis without him, and there he was on Thursday, April 23, locked in a thrilling match one big shot after another.

Matthew Marchini has been the number one singles player for John Jay for five years, and he put on a show one last time on the home court for the fans on senior day. Marchini prevailed for a 6-4, 7-5 victory at first singles as John Jay hosted Mamaroneck.

“I was feeling pumped up and wanted to win pretty bad, a good match, a tough week, I’ve had a lot of good matches this year,” Marchini said of the win on senior day. “I’ve been on varsity since eighth grade, it’s crazy how it went by so fast. I just play one match at a time, hoping to do well into sectionals, taking it match by match.”

John Jay coach Paul Crivelli knows how much Marchini has meant to the program since he joined the team as an eighth grader. He has watched him play several tough matches like the one against Mamaroneck, inspiring his teammates with his play on the court.

“Matthew has been part of the program since eighth grade and I’ve had the chance to coach him throughout his varsity career,” said coach Crivelli. “His long term commitment, consistency and leadership have really set the tone for the team. He’s the kind of player who leads by example every day, and he’s meant a great deal to the program.”

He is just one of two seniors on the team and John Jay honored both him and Eli Hiller with a cake to celebrate at the conclusion of the match against Mamaroneck.

“Senior night was definitely a highlight for our season, Matthew had a great win and it was a special night to recognize both of our seniors,” added Crivelli. “Eli is another captain and he’s been with the program for three years, and in that time he’s made a real impact with his attitude, reliability and willingness to do whatever the team needed. He’s grown a lot as both a player and a teammate.”

It was a great day for tennis with nice weather and John Jay was fired up with a number of tight matches playing until the sun was setting before Mamaroneck finally prevailed with a 4-3 win.

In addition to Matthew Marchini winning at first singles, Karl Shue won at second singles for John Jay scoring a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

At second doubles, Jonathan Marchini and Hudson Lutz rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 10-1 victory.

However, Mamaroneck was able to pull out the other four matches to secure the team win. Darren Tang finished his match at third singles despite injuring his back. At first doubles, John Jay has a young team with freshman Tom Pantouche and eighth grader Bradley D’Allesandro, and the duo came on strong and almost won the second set before falling 7-6. Hiller and Josh Cooper teamed up at third doubles for the Wolves.

“With just two seniors, we are definitely a young group and there are a lot of new faces stepping into bigger roles,” Crivelli said. “It was definitely a long afternoon and unfortunately, we came up just short. It was a really strong match for us. The guys competed well across the board and we’re seeing steady improvement. We’re in a very tough league, playing against teams like Scarsdale and Mamaroneck is always a challenge, but they’re exactly the kind of tests that help the group grow. Overall, we’ve been competitive this season and continue to improve.”