Three young men are redefining the reputation of WCAL tennis. Graduated senior Aryan Chaudhary from Archbishop Mitty, as well as junior Luke Casper and freshman Kurt Miller from Bellarmine all hold top rankings in the state for their age group. All three athletes have trained and competed with each other often, through tournaments and their mutual trainer Nick Fustar with Eagle Fustar tennis.
Chaudhary is 15th in the country, and will attend and compete at Stanford University next fall.
“(I’ve wanted to go to Stanford) for a very long time,” says Chaudhary. “I lived near the campus my whole life, visited plenty of times, and played a few tournaments there. It's a great campus, great environment, great people, and the team is fantastic. It’s always been a dream of mine and it came true.”
Casper, ranked sixth among juniors, recently made his verbal commitment to Texas A&M. Unlike his adversary from Mitty, Casper struggled making his decision as it came down to the University of Michigan, UCLA, and Texas A&M.
“A&M, the program, the team, all of it is great. It’s a group of really hard working guys, and there’s a balance." said Casper. "Some guys are making plans to go pro, some guys are just enjoying college tennis. My family and I had a great connection with the coach, and the school was the best fit. The other programs weren’t moving in the same direction A&M is.”
Miller, also ranked sixth in the country, is excited to take on a leadership role in his sophomore season.
“I learned that it’s about the team and not yourself,” says Miller. “Which is different from how I’ve always competed. Usually I’m focused on my match, but now it’s about the team. Now I’m trying to help my teammates out, and focusing on how they can improve, not just myself. Next year, I want to help my teammates more than I did this year, be a team player.”
Also unlike Chaudhary, Casper and Miller continue to train with Eagle Fustar and compete for Bellarmine while in season.
Chaudhary has a separate trainer, Lu Tang at Lu Tennis Academy, and ceased competing for the Monarchs in his sophomore year when his schedule couldn’t support it anymore.
Chaudhary says he enjoys competing against his ranked adversaries: “It’s a constant challenge. It motivates me to do better on the court and in practice. Whenever I play either of them it's a fun challenge for them and for myself.”
Casper and Miller compete with each other every day, aligning their schedules and doing their best to further themselves and their school.
“Luke is a phenomenal player, and I hit with him a lot at Eagle and at Bell," says Miller. "I learn so much just by hitting with him rather than talking with him. The biggest thing is timing, his return is phenomenal and I’m trying to learn that as well. He allows me to try different things and see what works and what doesn't because he’s such a good player that if you can make him uncomfortable it's a good thing.”
Even though Casper is the more experienced, and arguably better player, he still gives Kurt his due, claiming that Miller is “like, 10 times faster than me.”
Both players are great in their own right and are trying to adopt facets of the other’s game into their own. Kurt strives to be a leader like Luke, and Luke wants to get bigger and faster, he says,
“I think I can improve my physical shape, get stronger and faster," says Casper. "I’d like to be a beast on court.”
Chaudhary faces a whole different beast, as he prepares himself for his first season of NCAA tennis.
“College tennis is obviously faster,” he says. “Everybody hits the ball bigger, harder. They also all play smarter as well. I need to work on being able to effectively win points in a few shots and keep my opponents from doing the same.”
Of course, due to the recent restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the players have had time to work on other facets of their game, including Miller introducing meditation to his daily routine, and Chaudhary improving his stamina with running.
Casper, on the other hand, has been playing every day as the Santa Cruz locale hasn’t experienced court shut down.
“My dad’s a really good player, he played at Santa Clara," said Casper. "so I’ve been hitting with him or my friends during quarantine.”
While the next season currently hangs in limbo, these three athletes hope that they can get back on the court and back to competing soon.
