Boys' Tennis Athlete of the Year: Christian Boyer

Posted 6/24/14

The No. 1 singles spot in the state’s highest division is not for the faint of heart. Even though he was a doubles player who had never played a singles match in his high school career, Christian …

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Boys' Tennis Athlete of the Year: Christian Boyer

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The No. 1 singles spot in the state’s highest division is not for the faint of heart. Even though he was a doubles player who had never played a singles match in his high school career, Christian Boyer was not faint of heart this season.

The Hendricken senior took the top spot for one of the youngest Hendricken tennis teams in recent history and held his own against the best competition Rhode Island had to offer.

“He had never played a high school singles match until this year,” said head coach Steve Crawford. “He had to step in and play the best players in the state every time out. He had his work cut out for him.”

Boyer had been a key part of the Hendricken team for several years. As a sophomore, he played No. 3 doubles on a Hawk squad that went 13-3 and pushed powerhouse South Kingstown to the brink in the state championship match.

That Hendricken team lost a ton of talent to graduation, and the Hawks haven’t been back to the playoffs since. But players like Boyer have helped keep the Hawks afloat, giving them their best chance to contend.

This season, that meant a new – and big – challenge for Boyer. He ended up with a losing record, but he won four matches and never stopped pushing for more.

“He beat all the players he should have beaten,” Crawford said. “He never was upset about his situation.”

Instead, Boyer embraced the challenge. He battled in tough matches, took care of business in easier ones and ended up qualifying for the main draw of the state singles tournament. He was the only Warwick player to do so.

“He got better as the year went on,” Crawford said. “He was playing his best tennis at the end of the year.”

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