Was at McCaskey the other day to do a column on the Red Tornado’s boys’ tennis team, which is an eclectic bunch, to say the least. Here’s my story from Thursday’s New Era:
McCaskey’s boys’ tennis team is quite the melting pot.
Heck, just three of the Red Tornado’s top 10 players are actually enrolled at McCaskey.
The other seven players are an eclectic bunch: five of them attend Lancaster Christian, and thanks to a cooperative agreement, are allowed to compete for the Tornado. And the other two are foreign exchange students, one from Uzbekistan – which borders war torn Afghanistan — and the other from
Colombia.
Ruslan Nurullaev, a 15-year-old sophomore from
Gizzakh, Uzbekistan, plays No. 1 singles for the Tornado, and he’s already established himself as one of the top players in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
He dropped his first match to Lancaster Catholic junior ace Alex Veronis, the reigning league Double-A champ, but has won four matches in a row, including victories over league Triple-A heavyweights Michael Duong (Cocalico), Shawn Newlin (
Elizabethtown) and Alan Hummel (Hempfield).
Hummel is the league’s Triple-A reigning runner-up.
McCaskey’s roster – which includes 27 kids – also features Juan Amaya, an exchange student from Colombia, Lancaster Christian’s Kyle Yoo, who is an exchange student from South Korea, and Izmir Akhmedov, whose family moved to Lancaster from
Moscow.
“It’s such a unique and amazing situation,” said McCaskey coach Jack Bippus, who is in his second season as the Tornado’s boys’ coach. He’s been the girls’ coach the last three years.
“This is a great opportunity for all the kids,” he said. “They get to come over here and play tennis. And the McCaskey kids have welcomed them with open arms.”
The rest of the crew from Lancaster Christian includes senior Ben Rutt, senior Zac Bullock, junior Ryan Goldsmith, senior Derek Franhouser and sophomore Cole Weber, who all play in the top 10.
McCaskey kids. Lancaster Christian kids. Foreign exchange students.
Somehow, some way, Bippus and the Tornado are making it work.
“We celebrate that diversity,” said McCaskey senior Greg Dewet, a four-year starter who plays No. 4 singles. His dad is from
South Africa, adding to the melting pot theme.
“We have kids from all over the place, but we’re all here to play tennis and we’re all here to have fun,” he said. “We all cheer for each other and we all support each other. And this really gives you a good perspective on other cultures.”
So far this season those cultures have blended together quite nicely.
McCaskey is 2-2 in league matches, and on Wednesday defeated Section 1 foe Hempfield for the first time in more than 20 years. The Tornado’s league losses – to Cocalico and E-town – were by one point apiece.
“Matches here in the past just sort of came and went,” Bippus said. “This year, there’s excitement. It’s really a neat situation for everybody. It’s a lot of fun and there’s a lot of energy.”
That has a lot to do with the makeup of the team. Lancaster Christian’s players inject shots of intensity into McCaskey’s players. And the foreign exchange players – especially Nurullaev, who plays on club teams in his homeland – inject shots of intensity into the whole program.
“It’s awesome,” said Rutt, whose sister, Leah, a freshman at Lancaster Christian, is the reigning league girls’ Triple-A singles runner-up. His older sister, Alyssa, also went to Lancaster Christian and played for McCaskey. She plays for Cedarville College in Ohio and is 6-0 this season.
“It’s been a great experience because you meet a lot of different people,” Rutt said. “It’s neat to meet people from different cultures. It’s the best experience I’ve had in high school.”
Rutt’s dad, Jeff, was instrumental in Lancaster Christian’s athletes being allowed to participate for the Tornado. Six years ago he approached former McCaskey athletic director Steve Polonus, who liked the proposal and put his stamp on it.
The move opened the door for Lancaster Christian’s top players to compete in the L-L League – players like Ricky Tilton, who advanced to the boys’ league championship match three years ago, and Leah Rutt, who made it to the league finals last fall.
The cooperative agreement is stronger than ever this spring with five players from Lancaster Christian occupying spots in the Tornado’s top 10.
Toss in the two exchange students, and McCaskey’s team is a true melting pot.
JEFFREY REINHART
