The East Providence tennis team is strong and plan to contend for a title, despite dropping just their second game of the season, a 4-3 loss to North Smithfield during a division 2 home match on a blustery Tuesday afternoon, which dropped the team ’s record to 10-2.

Coach Slade Sharma’s Townies had previously won ten straight matches and have a foothold on third place in the division. 

“The team has bought in,” he said. “Our mantra is EAT (effort, attitude and teamwork) to win. It's been the mantra of the boys' tennis team and if you can follow those principles, it's going to lead you to success.”

 

East Providence has two brothers, Jeremiah and Malachi Smith, playing first and second singles. Jeremiah, a sophomore, is the real deal. He can serve, hit crisp groundstrokes and can use the whole court. 

“He’s an excellent player,” Coach Sharma said. “He’s really starting to bud. He’s put in a ton of work to contend with our opponents' best players. He’s a serious perfectionist and if he doesn’t get the result he wants, he pushes himself harder to go and chase that.”

His older brother, Malachi, a junior, may not be as gifted, but he is a gritty player with a very strong two-handed backhand. 

 “It’s his strength. You don’t typically see that at this level. He's a unique player that uses lot of different shots in his repertoire. That makes him a very difficult to play on the court. He's also can volley and beat you with drop shots.” 

Third singles player, senior Kiril Burkovskyi, began playing tennis just a season ago.

“He's pound-for-pound the person that looks like a tennis player in terms of performance,” said Coach Sharma. “Kiril has got iron-clad ground strokes and he just he wants to run the match on the baseline. But you know, he's really an impressive kid. He’s really a positive force for the team.”

The Townies fourth singles player is a freshman, Will Budnick. He has all of the tools to be a successful player for Coach Sharma the next four years. 

“Will is a solid player and he’s off to a hot start,” he said. “He’s had a lot of success. He has great skills and can take the game anywhere on the court.” 

 

The doubles teams have been terrific this season with a combined record of 32-3. Seniors Joseph Carillo and Alexander Cassamas at second doubles are the backbone of the team with a record of 10-2, according to Coach Sharma. 

“They have been partners since last year and they play really well together,” he said. 

The third doubles team of sophomore Owen Carriero, and junior Zair Miranda are currently undefeated at 12-0. 

“If you watch them play tennis, they are really smooth,” he said. “They play the game nice and calm and they just get into it and they can really impress with their play.”

And first doubles team of sophomore Alex Green and junior Finnegan McShane are 10-2. 

“It’s not so much that we have this wealth of talent,” he said. “We like push the other part of it with a lot of hard work and these guys are doing it. And that's why we've been successful.”

 

Townies fall to North Smithfield 4-3 in hard fought match. Two matches went to three sets, both loses and first singles player Jeremiah Smith lost a first set tie-breaker and his brother played an extended second set, only to both lose their matches. Jeremiah Smith fell to Northmen first singles player Nate Tremblay 6-7 (4-7), 2-6. Malachi also battled and fell to Tim Ferri in straight sets, 3-6, 5-7. Freshman Will Budnick, the fourth singles player, succumbed in a three setter to Oliver Drolet 3-6, 6-4, 4-6. And the first doubles team of Alex Green and Finnegan McShane lost a three-set match to Bryce Santos and Ben Wallbillich, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6. On the bright side, senior Kiril Burkovskyi won a decisive two-set match at third singles, over Chase Nelson, 6-2, 6-0, as did second doubles team of Joseph Carillo and Alexander Cassamas, who clobbered the Northmen team of Cody Roy and Alex Seveny in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0. Owen Carriero and Zair Miranda, the third doubles team, also won, in a hard-fought match, over Carter Hawes and Ben Cuddy, 6-3, 6-4.