High school notes: Former ECC champ Albrikes now competing at S.C. tennis academy
May 10—Will Albrikes was the two-time defending Eastern Connecticut Conference singles champion last summer when he attended camp at Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
And then, suddenly, Albrikes was faced with a decision:
Remain at Fitch High School, with all the community support and his dad, Jerry, as his coach, or return to Smith Stearns to attend the tennis academy full-time. It was a late commitment to Smith Steans, "I think three days before," said Albrikes, who is now finishing his junior year 900 miles from his comfort zone in Mystic, Connecticut.
"It was a hard decision, it was hard," Albrikes said in a recent telephone conversation. "I knew I would miss my parents. I wouldn't see them in a while. I miss Fitch. I miss all the local support and stuff.
"... I think I had to go if I wanted to play college tennis."
It's been quite the experience for Albrikes, who plays tennis for two hours in the morning before school — the tennis academy has a partnership with Hilton Head Prep, where the tennis players attend class — and for two hours after.
He started off in his new tennis environment on what he calls the "not-so-good court."
"Now I'm on the top court," Albrikes said. "Now all the (other) seven kids are better than me. It's hard to stay up there. ... It's kind of hard to win points when you're the worst one up there."
Albrikes, who was The Day's All-Area Boys' Tennis Player of the Year his two seasons at Fitch, defeated Stonington's Tucker Callahan for the 2022 ECC title and Stonington's Brady O'Neil for the 2023 crown.
Now, Albrikes is even better. His universal tennis rating jumped from 7 to 8.82 this season, he said, with his goal to hit 9.0 before the end of the season. He won his second tournament at Smith Stearns, finishing first in the boys' 18-year-old B Division at a Level 5 tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in October, vastly improving his rating.
Albrikes said his strokes were sound when he arrived at his new home but he struggled with fitness, needing repetition. He calls Smith Stearns "the perfect situation."
Following tennis sessions in the morning, the players are allowed to shower in the clubhouse at nearby Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the RBC Heritage Golf tournament, before going to school. (Both the tennis academy and the golf course are located in Sea Pines Resort).
The tennis academy has access to Sea Pines' 21 clay courts, plus four hardcourts — "there's a lot of clay down in the south," Albrikes said.
He is grateful for his surroundings and his opportunity to improve, all while missing home. He speaks to his mom and dad, Elizabeth and Jerry — Jerry has had an accomplished career in tennis, including being inducted into the USTA New England Hall of Fame — every day.
The tennis academy is run by Stan Smith, the former world No. 1 singles player who won at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and academy director B.J. Stearns. Albrikes calls it a supportive environment.
"It was a little bit of a risk," said Albrikes, "leaving my dad as my coach. It was between staying with him or getting reps all day."
Crunching numbers
It isn't just anyone who can eclipse the 250-goal plateau for her career and then say that's not the best part of her day. But Maddie McLeod of the Ledyard girls' lacrosse team sees things differently.
"Yeah, I made 250 goals, but at the end of the day, I want to see our team happy as a team, bonding and having fun out there because I just love lacrosse," said McLeod, a senior attack who has helped lead the Colonels to a 9-4 record this far.
"I'm just happy any day we come to practice; I'm like 'Let's have a good day.'"
McLeod has 45 goals and 8 assists so far this season (as well as 40 draw controls), eclipsing the 250-goal mark for her career in a win over Bacon Academy/East Hampton on May 2. She has a school record 259 goals and 25 assists in her career, scoring a career-high 90 goals last year as a junior.
And that's with McLeod playing this spring with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left leg, necessitating that she wear a leg brace to compete and moving her from her more traditional spot in the midfield.
McLeod is also a member of Ledyard's girls' soccer and girls' indoor track teams and is the Colonels' CIAC Scholar-Athlete. She will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she plans to play soccer and major in applied mathematics or biomedical engineering.
"I ended up liking WPI and I can continue athletics and it's a STEM school," McLeod said of her college choice. "I'm really big in STEM so I think it will be a great fit for me engineering-wise and math-wise."
And more
Old Lyme girls' tennis coach Lauren Rahr, in her fourth season, lost the first match of her career after 78 straight victories, falling to Waterford 4-3 last Saturday. Rahr was OK with the loss as it pertained to her own personal record, but was moved at the end of the match when twin seniors Aggie and Beatrice Hunt addressed the team. "They said, 'Now you know how much winning meant and how hard we worked for it all,'" Rahr said. "It's just amazing how mature they are and how far they've come."
... Norwich Free Academy's Brooke Bolles will play for the women's soccer team next season at Eastern Connecticut State University. Bolles was a member of The Day's 2023 All-Area Girls' Soccer Team, having helped lift the Wildcats to the ECC Division I tournament title. ... NFA's Louis Hawkins III will also continue his soccer career, playing for the men's team at Roger Williams University.
... The East Lyme girls' lacrosse team has strong ties to the Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut, with head coach Phil Schneider and several of his athletes pitching in to run the spring lacrosse session for the Miracle League. Some of the players also volunteer for the league's basketball program during the winter. On April 27, Schneider extended an invitation to Miracle League athletes to attend the Vikings' home girls' lacrosse game against Longmeadow, Massachusetts. "The Miracle League game was an attempt to have the Miracle League athletes attend a game to see the players who work with them on a regular basis," Schneider said. "The players really enjoy working with the athletes and have built relationships that go beyond the clinics."
