Junior tennis player David Rozek gazed across the net into the eyes of a familiar face on Friday in the Residence Inn Wolfpack Invitational. Rozek was set to face junior Mason Schermerhorn, a former Pack teammate who transfered to Elon and is now a key part of the Phoenix’s program this year.
“Eight months ago we were teammates,” Rozek said. “It was strange seeing him wearing different colors and with a different crew.”
Schermerhorn transferred after he and Rozek faced a suspension last spring due to an incident in the fall.
Schermerhorn chose to transfer to Elon even though he was offered a scholarship to return this fall. Schermerhorn, Rozek and coach Jon Choboy refused to comment on the specifics of the incident leading to the suspension.
“It was an unfortunate incident, and we’ve buried it,” Rozek said.
According to Schermerhorn, his transfer dealt more with personal issues over playing time and not the suspension.
“I wanted to transfer,” Schermerhorn said. “I played all year my first year at State. He [coach Jon Choboy] put me out my second year. I won a lot of matches for State, but he didn’t put me in much even before getting suspended. The fact that I didn’t play was the real reason I transfered.”
Schermerhorn, who had not played in a competitive match in nearly a year, said the chance to face former teammates and friends proved exciting.
“That was my first competitive match in almost a year,” Schermerhorn said. “It was my first match almost since that tournament last year.”
Rozek, who decidedly handled Campbell’s Artoym Starkov 6-4, 6-0, lost to Schermerhorn 7-6 (2), 7-5 in the second round of the Invitational. Schermerhorn went on to defeat Campbell’s Gabriel Delaru 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and was set to face another former teammate, sophomore Jay Weinacker in the semifinals.
“Earlier that day I played really well,” Schermerhorn said. “I had to play Jay about 30 minutes after my first match.”
Though Schermerhorn took an early lead, Weinacker went on to top Schermerhorn 2-4, 6-4, 6-2.
“It was very competitive,” Schermerhorn said. “I enjoyed playing former teammates and friends. It elevated the play because there was so much on the line in both matches. It was fun, but it was also challenging.”
According to Rozek, playing a former teammate and friend was a bit strange, but exciting.
“I’d never played a former teammate in a tournament,” Rozek said. “One of my teammates mentioned that I was playing Mason and I just tried not to think about it. You have to focus on playing the ball and not the person. A match is a match, and you don’t bring friendship into a match — you just play.”
Despite losing Schermerhorn to Elon, Rozek and coach John Choboy both said they anticipate a good year for the Pack.
“The season looks really bright,” Rozek said. “It’s a little different without Mason. He brought a lot of personality to this team, and there’s a bit of a void without him. We have some good recruits and it looks on the up-and-up. As far as the conference goes, I think we’ve got a good shot.”
Choboy said Rozek and the Pack are looking good heading into the upcoming season.
“David is doing a good job,” Choboy said. “He’s played some good tennis, and he’s changing his game around. Last year we had the best record in school history with 20 wins. I’m looking forward to the new guys and the returners. We lost two good seniors, but we have some great freshmen. They’re all fighting for the top spots. That’s reason for excitement.”
