Barrington boasts state champ… and runner-up

Barrington seniors battle it out in tennis state finals

By Josh Bickford
Posted 6/21/21

Betsy Brenner stood on the tennis court and just watched.

During most matches, the Barrington High School coach will share tips or instructions with her players. But not on Sunday during the …

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Barrington boasts state champ… and runner-up

Barrington seniors battle it out in tennis state finals

Posted

Betsy Brenner stood on the tennis court and just watched.

During most matches, the Barrington High School coach will share tips or instructions with her players. But not on Sunday during the state singles championship match. Instead, the Eagles coach stood on the Slater Park tennis court and watched as the top two players on her team — seniors Eric Zhang and James Bogdanovic — squared off in a match to determine the top high school singles player in the state.

“They’re just two great kids and they competed so well,” Coach Brenner said.

In the end, Zhang defeated Bogdanovic 6-2, 6-4 and captured the state singles title. 

“Eric just had answers for everything James did,” Coach Brenner said. “Eric put a lot of pressure on James.”

Coach Brenner said Sunday marked a great day for Barrington High School tennis. It had been more than 30 years since the state singles finals featured two players from the same team. 

“It’s huge for Barrington tennis,” she said. “We had the two best players in the state. It literally was icing on the cake for Barrington tennis, for their high school careers.”

The Eagles coach said Zhang and Bogdanovic have been playing tennis against (and sometimes with) each other for years. Bogdanovic was Barrington’s number one singles player for his freshman and sophomore seasons. Last year’s season was canceled, and when play resumed this spring, Zhang defeated Bogdanovic during a ladder match and earned the number one spot for the BHS team.

Both seniors powered through the early rounds of the state singles tournament and eventually earned the chance to square off in the finals on Sunday in Pawtucket. Zhang again proved to be the top Eagles’ netter and, in the process, the number one high school player in Rhode Island. 

Coach Brenner said she spoke to both players following the match.

“I congratulated Eric. I tried to console James,” she said. 

The night before the state finals, Coach Brenner said she sent a text to both players. She wrote that whatever happened during the championship match, she wanted both boys to know they were champions in her eyes. She said she was very proud to be their coach.

“They have so much respect for each other… they’re true champions on and off the court,” she said. 

Coach Brenner said both boys will continue their tennis careers in college next year — Eric will play at Kenyon College, while James will play at Colby College. 

Team loses in semis

The Barrington High School boys tennis team suffered its first loss of the season in the state semifinals. The Eagles, who went 8-0 in the regular season, lost to Moses Brown in the semis, 4-3. 

Zhang and Bogdanovic won their matches at first and second singles, respectively, and the Eagles’ second doubles team of Zack Spear and Vineet Abbinenni won its match. Coach Brenner said Scott Sapolsky, playing at third singles, offered Barrington its best chance to win the match. Sapolsky pushed his opponent, Gabe Kravitz (also a Barrington resident) to three sets before losing. 

Coach Brenner said Barrington beat Moses Brown earlier this season, but the Quakers were without some of their key players at the time. 

“Moses Brown was super strong,” Coach Brenner said. 

The Eagles coach said she was very impressed with her own team also, and believes the future is bright for the Eagles. 

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