Holler, DiMatteo lead GI tennis

by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, May 11, 2007

Dan Sweeney has had to make a lot of difficult decisions in his first year as varsity boys tennis coach at Grand Island.

Putting sophomores Scott Holler and Korey DiMatteo together at first doubles was not one of them. In fact, Sweeney says that was one of the easiest decisions he’s made since he took over the Vikings tennis program.

And it’s also been one of his best decisions.

“They were clearly the best doubles team,” Sweeney said. “They’re friends and they’ve played together for a long time. They played together last year in exhibition matches, and now they’re just head and shoulders above the other guys.”

Putting Holler and DiMatteo together was a natural choice, the coach says.

Best friends, they came out together for the team three years ago and have been playing doubles together ever since. They played mostly exhibition matches and bided their time while the upperclassmen had their turn.

Now they’re getting their opportunity, and they’re making the most of it. And they already have down the one vital element in any doubles team – communication.

“Chemistry is everything,” Holler said. “We might not be the best players in the world, but we make up for a lot because we communicate so well. Each of us knows what the other is going to be doing. Communication is one of the most important parts of the game.”

The pair does well in most other aspects, as well.

Both players are fundamentally sound, although each has strong points that nicely complement the other. DiMatteo can put a little more force behind his strokes, while he freely admits that Holler is much better defensively at getting to shots in all corners of the court.

Knowing each other so well gives them a distinct advantage when they play other teams, they say.

“If you’re playing with someone you really don’t know, it’s tough,” DiMatteo said. “You’re not sure what they’re going to do and you may not be on the same page when you call signals. And you don’t know their strengths and weaknesses. We know each other pretty well.”

At the start of the season, Sweeney had toyed with the idea of putting them in singles to theoretically maximize their skills. They weren’t bad at singles, but it quickly became apparent that they were much more effective as a doubles tandem, so that’s where he put them. They’ve done well against some quality competition in the Niagara Frontier League, winning four of their first seven matches.

And with two more years of varsity play still ahead of them, Sweeney knows that they’re only going to get better. The experience from this season will be invaluable down the road, he says.

“They’ve had a couple bumps in the road, but they’ve beaten some good teams,” Sweeney said. “I think they’ll be right in the hunt – right in the middle of the pack in the league for first doubles. They’ll win more than they’ll lose.”