A Revere High School student recently traveled to Indianapolis to compete in a United States Tennis Association tournament with his club team, which placed third out of sixteen teams.

Senior Matt Fiedler’s tennis team representing Paramount Tennis Club in Medina attended the USTA Junior Team Tennis Midwest Championships at the end of July. The team qualified by winning a district tournament in Northeast Ohio. First-place teams from sixteen other districts competed for the championship, advancing to the semi-finals by winning in their own pool of four teams. Individually, Fiedler played boys’ doubles and won a set 8-4, and played a singles match in which he won 8-1. Paramount proceeded to the semi-final game, but they lost and took third place.

Fiedler has taken lessons at Paramount for four years, and works with coaches Adam Shoemaker, Dean Morse and Adam Perkins. Three years ago he began training with Shoemaker, who helps to improve his skills. Shoemaker discussed Fiedler’s development as a player during the time he has worked with him.

“[Fiedler] is a great person to work with because he is extremely coachable. We have made several changes to his game since I started working with him and he has been willing to try different things to see what would work best for his game,” Shoemaker said.

Fiedler expressed the positive influence that the club team has on his tennis career.

“I get to practice year round, meet new people, and [it is] more competitive than just the school level,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler hopes to play on the second singles team for the RHS team. He explained how the club team could help him reach his goal.

“By continuing to play in tournaments, I will get better and hopefully get that position on the high school team,” Fiedler said.

Emily Day, a sophomore at Archbishop Hoban High School, has played with Fiedler for two years at Paramount. She also believes that the tournament aided her in recognizing areas she should focus on for improvement. She described Fiedler’s strengths on the court and his impact on the team.

“The great thing about [Fiedler] is his ability to control the court. He is usually able to get to almost everything that is hit at him. [Fiedler] is an overall solid tennis player and was a great addition to our junior team,” Day said.

Paul Fisher, RHS biology teacher and tennis coach, mentioned Fiedler’s strengths in his tennis career.

“[Fiedler]’s strength on the tennis court would certainly be his ability to be consistent and out-think his opponents. He’s a very smart tennis player and does a great job of using great strategies on the court,” Fisher said.

Fiedler plans to play club or intramural tennis in college since he will not have the time to play on a varsity team.