By Bill Schleper
With Spring Break now in the rearview mirror, the Shakopee Sabers Boys’ Tennis team is anxious to get back out on the courts and get this season started. Fortunately, it looks like Mother Nature might be making a turn for the better, with temps expected to slowly start creeping back into the 50s and 60s this coming week!
Head Varsity Coach Drew Decorsey—in her 7th year at the helm—is excited about the upcoming season, which starts on Tuesday, April 8th, at Rosemount High School, with a 3:30 p.m. match against the Irish. The Sabers have yet to have a full-squad outdoor practice, with tryouts held just this past week during Spring Break. The cold weather forced the squad back indoors for their lone team practice on Monday.
Decorsey has good reason to be excited about her 2025 squad, as the team will be senior-heavy, with an abundance of experience and flexibility in her lineup. Decorsey notes, “We will be traveling with 12 varsity players each meet, but a lot of guys had great tryouts, so we will have 15 that are practicing with us,” which will also provide some added flexibility throughout the season and could allow a day off from time to time for some players, keeping them fresh throughout the season.
“We haven't had a day of practice with our whole team there to figure out our full lineup quite yet, but we are lucky this year to have almost the same roster returning from last year. We have also gained two players back after injury caused them to miss most of the season last year!” states Decorsey, who has coached several of her players since they were just youngsters playing in the Shakopee Tennis Association, where she has coached the past 13 summers. Decorsey adds, “We are also really lucky to have a roster that is flexible. We have a lot of guys who can play both singles and doubles, and that gives our team a lot of opportunities to try different lineups throughout the season.”
Under Decorsey, the Sabers’ coaching staff has stability and experience. Alongside Drew is her father Robb, serving as Varsity Assistant for the past seven years. Robb Decorsey has coached tennis for over thirty years and was a longtime head girls’ tennis coach at Glencoe-Silver Lake High School. He is currently the president of the Minnesota Tennis Coaches Association and has been a huge contributor and advocate for Minnesota tennis. The Decorsey duo brings stability, knowledge, and understanding of the game of tennis and its intricacies to a team that has a noticeable bond on the courts, cheering each other on from across the nets.
On the JV level, Brett Giesen and Jack Zirkle will once again take up coaching duties. This is Brett's fifth year coaching the JV boys’ team, after growing up and playing tennis in Wisconsin, and then continuing on to play in college at Saint Mary's University. Brett also coaches in the summer through the Shakopee Tennis Association. Zirkle is in his fifth season coaching in the Shakopee boys’ program. During his first year, he coached the 10A team, and over the last four years, he and Brett have teamed up to coach the JV boys.
What to keep an eye on this season:
Senior Anuj Priyadarshi will lead the team as the #1 singles player. “Anuj played one singles for us last year, and that will most likely be where he plays throughout the season. Throughout tryouts and practices over spring break, he has shown that he is ready and capable of making some noise in our conference and section this year,” according to Coach Decorsey.
Also, be on the lookout for fellow seniors Abhay Inampudi, Jack Deegan, Joey Schleper, and Gaurav Shirole. “They are all players that can play in both singles and doubles and make our lineup strong,” Decorsey adds. “They all had a great first week during tryouts, and I am excited to get them back on the court after spring break!”
The Senior-strong roster stacks up like this:
The Sabers will also have a new home court this season, as the old, cracked courts at Shakopee High School have been replaced after a year of playing at Stans Park (next to West Middle School) last season, where multiple cracks made for some not-so-natural bounces. The Sabers look forward to eight brand-new courts that they will break in this season just outside the main activities doors at Shakopee High School. The first home match of the season will be this coming Thursday afternoon, as the Sabers take on the Wildcats from Eagan HS at 4:00 p.m.
