NORTHAMPTON — When Northampton sophomore Stefan Johnson competes for the state individual tennis championship on Saturday, he will lean on years of dedicated practice in hopes of winning the first championship in school history.
Johnson will play South champion Harry Collomb of Wellesley at 9 a.m. at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury. Derek Shen of Boston Latin and Aryan Nijhawan of Westboro compete in the other semifinal.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” Johnson said. “I see a lot of those guys in USTA tournaments and we’re all like around the same level so it’s super high competition.”
Johnson is currently 15th in under 16 boys singles USTA New England Junior rankings. Collomb is 57th and Nijhawan 26th. Shen is ranked 26th in under 18.
Getting to this point took a lot of work and for Johnson, it started at a young age.
“I started hitting around 5 or 6 and playing in tournaments at 8 or 9,” Johnson said.
Johnson was 6 when he began working with Art Carrington, a former ATA singles champion and president of the New England Tennis Association, at The Carrington Tennis Academy at the Bay Road Indoor Tennis Courts at Hampshire College.
For four years, Johnson honed his skills and becoming a fundamentally sound tennis player under Carrington.
At 11, Johnson started working with current Wesleyan assistant coach Steve Rogers at his academy in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. When Johnson reached high school he returned to Carrington.
Working with high-level coaches like Carrington and Rogers allowed Johnson to develop certain skills that most players his age on the high school circuit don’t have.
“Some of the bigger things that they’ve taught me are footwork and moving,” Johnson said. “That’s a really important part of getting to the ball and hitting it well, and in position and on balance.”
One of the biggest things he learned was an extremely useful and effective kick serve.
“It’s been my best serve ever since,” Johnson said. “A lot of people don’t really know how to return it and it’s not as fast as a flat serve and they’re not really used to the spin so they can’t return that.”
Johnson is in his second season as the No. 1 singles player for Northampton. As a freshman he finished runner-up in the Western Mass. Individual Tournament. For first-year co-coach Matt Muspratt, working with Johnson has been both difficult and rewarding.
“It’s a challenge for me more than an honor. Stefan is way more accomplished than I am, far, far more accomplished,” Muspratt said. “It’s been sort of a learning experience for me just seeing the way he plays and his ball, and how he handles playing against different opponents, but it’s been great fun.”
Johnson has never played Collomb in a singles match, but he has defeated him several times in doubles at different USTA tournaments. It gives him some insight as far as what to expect Saturday.
“I can’t really base how I’m going to do at states off of how many sets I lost here,” said Johnson, who lost only two sets to western Mass. competition all season. “It’s different people, a different caliber of tennis. I know I’m one of the best four in the state and I also know that they’re one of the best too.”
If Johnson beats Collomb, he will play in the championship at approximately 1 p.m. He’s two wins away from the school’s first state individual title.
“It would be such an honor,” Johnson said. “To represent my school and western Mass. as a whole.”