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Riverdale boys battle through injuries and inconsistency, yet streaky Falcons continue program’s winning tradition on the tennis court

By Jason Eisenberg

June 22, 2011 -- When tennis guru Jeff Nerenberg first became head coach of the Riverdale Country School boys’ team back in 2008, he took an already-strong program and immediately brought it to an even higher level. In fact, Nerenberg saw his Falcons lose just five times during his first three seasons at the helm combined -- peaking with a near-perfect 16-1 showing last year -- and the team qualified for the prestigious New York City Mayor’s Cup tournament on an annual basis.

With that said, there are plenty of tennis teams and coaches across the state that would be thrilled to finish with an 11-5 record, as Riverdale just did in 2011, but considering their comparably high standards, this still-impressive mark was actually somewhat of a disappointment for the Falcons. The local squad matched its previous three-year loss total in 2011 alone, experienced the unfamiliar feeling of consecutive defeats on two separate occasions and failed to earn a Mayor’s Cup bid for the first time under Nerenberg.

Despite these setbacks, though, the Riverdale boys still managed to keep their tradition of winning tennis alive in the end. The fact that a second-place finish within a very tough Ivy League -- and more than twice as many victories as losses -- could be looked at as a down-year, it just serves as further proof of how successful and dominant the Falcons have been in recent times.    

“This was still a terrific year, just not a championship one, and that is exactly how I described it to the kids,” said Coach Nerenberg. “This group of players really does not know anything except winning, so I am sure there was a sense of pressure with the expectation level always so high. We might not have achieved what we set out to do and we were crushed to miss Mayor’s Cup, but when you win two out of every three matches, it is definitely something to take pride in.” 

Viewed from an overall standpoint, Riverdale’s 2011 season had more ups and downs than the average roller coaster ride, but this streaky performance over the two-month schedule can essentially be summed up in a pair of words: injuries and inconsistency.

The Falcons opened with two wins, beating Ivy foes Trinity and Collegiate on back-to-back days, but then followed that strong start up with consecutive league losses to Hackley and Dalton. This was Riverdale’s first-ever losing streak since Nerenberg took over the team and it seemed to effectively serve as a wake-up call, as the Falcons went on from there to win eight straight contests. The impressive stretch culminated with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Hackley to avenge the loss from earlier in the season.

Riverdale sophomore Harry Schaaff made quick work of his Hackley counterpart in the first-singles contest, which proved to be an especially crucial outcome because it was the only singles match the Falcons would win on this day. Once again, though, the local squad would prove why they consider doubles to be the foundation of their team. The junior duo of Jay Dessy and Jace Forbes-Cockell overcame a surprisingly one-sided second-set loss to battle back and win the decisive third set in an exciting second-doubles contest. With the overall score tied at two matches apiece, it all came down to number-one doubles and the Riverdale pair of senior Noah Kaufmann and junior Brandon Bratsafolis did not disappoint in a commanding straight-set victory.

Unfortunately, just as the Falcons seemed primed for a run at another Ivy title, the injury bug suddenly hit. Schaaff went down with a serious foot problem and then junior third-singles player Jason Shapiro began to suffer from a back ailment almost simultaneously. With two key starters playing in pain and at times out of the lineup altogether, Riverdale would lose three league contests in a row -- to local rivals Fieldston and Horace Mann, as well as to Dalton -- in a span of four disastrous days. To their credit, the Falcons bounced back with a convincing win over Poly Prep in the season finale, despite being locked in to second place within the Ivy standings and already eliminated from Mayor’s Cup contention.    

“We had never lost to Fieldston before since I came here, and then to immediately follow that with losses to Dalton and Horace Mann was tough,” said Coach Nerenberg. “Yes, the injuries hurt, but that happens in sports and it was not the reason we lost. The other teams were simply better on those days. What makes me proud is that my kids could have just quit ... instead they treated the last match against Poly like it was our World Series and ended the year on a positive note.”  

Shortly after the season concluded, a handful of Falcons were recognized with All-Ivy honors, including a first-team selection for the doubles duo of Dessy and Forbes-Cockell, as well as Shapiro and the pair of Kaufmann and Bratsafolis being named to the second-team. 

The other good news for Riverdale and Coach Nerenberg is that the Falcons will lose just three seniors to graduation -- team captain and second-singles player Griff Freeman, half of the number-one doubles team in Kaufmann, as well as Matthew Glaswand, who successfully filled in for injured teammates on several occasions throughout the season. The remainder of the roster is expected to return intact next year, with Schaaff back in the number-one singles spot and the tandem of Dessy and Forbes-Cockell moving up to take over the top doubles role. Shapiro, who is the most improved player on the team according to his coach, appears ready for a jump to number-two singles, while Bratsafolis will likely be placed at number-three singles after losing his doubles partner.

“If Harry can find a way to stay healthy, I really believe he will be the best player in the league next year,” said Coach Nerenberg. “Jay and Jace have been playing together for three years and that is rare, so by next season they will have mastered our attack tennis strategy and should be able to compete with any opponent in first-doubles. Now, if we can just find a second doubles team, I think we are going to be in pretty good shape for 2012.”