Boys Varsity Tennis traveled to the annual Kingswood-Oxford Invitational Tennis Tournament (KITT) on March 28 and 29 to compete against Westminster, Deerfield, Groton, Kingswood Oxford, Lawrenceville, Choate, and Hall High School.
The team tied for third place overall with Deerfield in the eight- team tournament, while Choate took first and Lawrenceville placed second.
“KITT offers players a chance to build chemistry, assess team bonding, and prepare for the season,” said Head Coach Josh Smith.
Four-year Senior Yury Tsibikov ’26 won the 1st singles flight.
The tournament featured four singles flights and two doubles flights, with each player guaranteed at least two matches across the two- day competition.
Six players attended: Tsibikov ’26 (1st singles), Jai Rizvi ’26 (2nd singles), Jackson Grace ’26 (3rd singles), Nate Reif ’27 (4th singles), and two doubles pairings: Tsibikov and Grace (1st doubles), and Zach Chen ’28 and Liam Pastella ’28 (2nd doubles).
The competition served as an opportunity for the team to experiment early in the season. Head Coach Josh Smith said, “The main goal for the team from the coaches was to try out some different things, such as doubles pairings.”
Tsibikov ’26 won the first singles flight and was the only player to secure a main draw title. In his match against the number-one Deerfield player, Tsibikov lost the first set 4-6, won the second set 6-4, and took the match in a 10-6 tiebreaker, avenging his loss to the same player last year. Coach Smith said, “It was a really close match, and I am very proud that he was able to avenge his loss to a very strong opponent.”
While most of the players did not advance through the main draw, several won matches in the consolation rounds, contributing to the team’s overall score. Matches in the main draw each worth two points, while matches in the back draw each worth one point.
The tournament is a longstanding tradition for the boy’s team. Coach Smith said, “As one of the three major tournaments in the season, KITT offers players a chance to build chemistry, assess team bonding, and prepare for the actual season.”
Following the tournament, the team secured a 4-2 victory against Taft on April 8.
The team played Salisbury on April 10 and will face Westminster, Kent, and Trinity Pawling the following week.
