Athletes Of The Week: Christina Coppolino and Tony Therattil

Christina Coppolino

Senior captain Christina Coppolino just finished a very successful season with the New Providence varsity softball team.

As the team’s starting second baseman for the last four years, Coppolino has left her own mark on the team. Most recently, she assisted the team in in the North 2, Group 1 sectional semifinal, 7-4, advancing the Pioneers to their first-ever sectional championship against Whippany Park.

on Thursday afternoon, 8-0, the team had a stellar season, finishing 19-7 overall.

Coppolino had a hand in advancing the team to many wins this season and in the State Tournament, especially against Roselle Park in the quarterfinals on May 26. The senior captain went 3 for 4 with a double, two singles and an RBI, assisting the team to yet another win over Roselle Park this season.

“The first two innings at bat, I struck out and another person struck out. I don’t know if we were a little excited or a little nervous, but we started off slow at the bat,” Coppolino said. “The next time we got up, we really wanted it and we started hitting like we normally do. We had, during that game, that one bad inning we always seem to have, but we pulled back from it, which is good because it seemed like everyone was getting down and getting a little testy. It was good that we kept our composure and shook it off.”

On May 24 in the first round of the State Tournament, the Pioneers put away Newark Arts, 18-3, and Coppolino had two walks, two stolen bases, an RBI and one run scored. The day before vs. Rahway, she also had two RBI, a walk, a single and a stolen base.

Her accomplishments this season go hand-in-hand with goals she set for herself.

“Even since I was a freshman and sophomore, I actually played the field, but I was kind of weak at bat so I didn’t bat. So I’ve tried extra hard with batting lessons and working hard, trying to perform better, and I’ve definitely hit much better this year. I’d say this is my best hitting.”

Aside from her many accomplishments this season and achieving her personal goals, Head Coach Kelly Villa said “Copp” is a very vocal leader on the field.

“She sets the tone with her attitude, play and enthusiasm. Any coach would be proud to have her on their team,” Villa told Patch in an email. “No matter what happens on or off the field, she is intense and ready to play. You can hear Copp from miles away. I’m going to miss this kid.”

As her fourth and final varsity season comes to an end, Coppolino believes her team, which was fortunate in having several returning players this year, performed well this season.

“It was kind of the same team from last year because we only had two seniors leave and we had stronger underclassmen that filled in nicely,” she said. “It wasn’t a big loss of people where we had to learn how to work with each other again.”

Copp said she thinks having so many returning players greatly contributed to the team’s success in the State Tournament.

“We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses; having the same pitcher — Cassandra and [catcher] Michelle [Ciarrocca] work together, they know each other every well — and I know my infield so it’s been really good,” Copp said. “I definitely think with our team, we have strong at bats, strong in field, and really good communication that we’ve been working on.”

Another contributing factor to the success of this season, in Copp’s eyes, were the coaches — Villa and new assistant coach Jill Fisherman.

“[Fisherman] helped a lot. Villa is hard on us so they kind of compliment each other. [Fisherman] really helped us with staying focused and she really helped with batting,” Copp said. “Coach Villa has helped a lot over the four years, whether it was problems we’re having outside of school or whatever, she’s always been there. She’s hard on you, but it’s not overwhelming where you feel it’s down your throat. So I think she really helped me become the best softball player I could be through my four years and has helped me grow as a player and a person.”

What’s next for Copp? She will attend Brevard Community College in Florida, enrolling in a two-year Veterinary Tech program. From there, Copp may go to Penn State University to study Veterinary Medicine.

While she did want to play on Brevard’s softball team, her class schedule won’t allow it. But, she will still stay active in the sport through intramural Softball.

“It’s exciting because I’m taking a new step in my life,” she said. “But I’m also sad and nervous because I won’t be able to play with the same team and same girls.”

Tony Therattil

Senior Tony Therattil just completed his final varsity season with the boys’ tennis team.

As a co-captain with Bobby Libera and on the 1st doubles team with Mike Herrigel, Therattil was a major part of the tennis team’s overall performance this season.

The team was the defending Group 1 champion coming into the State Tournament this season, but the Pioneers fell short of a repeat . But at that game, Therattil and Herrigel went 6-0, 6-0 in their doubles match.

“We didn’t really know what to expect because a lot of the teams in our group we don’t actually play. We didn’t know anything about Highland Park so we had to go into the match thinking that every team in the next round will get better and better,” Therattil said. “When [Herrigel and I] were warming up with them, we noticed that they were pretty good and could hit the ball well. We noticed a couple of weaknesses and tried to tackle those during the match, and I think by doing that, we were able to take control from the beginning and get the win.”

Facing Dayton in the second round of the State Tournament, the team managed a 4.5-0.5 victory, and Therattil and Herrigel won their match 6-1, 6-3. Therattil said they were already well aware of the competition to expect from the Dayton team.

“The Dayton match is always tough because they are sort of our rivals,” Therattil said. “So there’s always a little bit of tension. That was the second or third time we played them so we were already familiar with them.”

Advancing to the third round of the State Tournament to face Whippany Park on May 24, Therattil and Herrigel won their match, 6-3, 6-1, and the team move on up to the next round against Highland Park.

“We didn’t know what to expect. We did play them last year I think and we were able to beat them,” Therattil said. “This year, we noticed that their record was a lot better and there were a lot of new players. Both the players we played were new.”

Therattil, who played JV tennis during his freshman year and continued with the varsity team for the last three seasons, said he will miss playing on the team.

“I think overall we did well. We did lose two big players from last year and we had to rely on our depth. Our doubles are really solid so we knew we could, most of the time, get a win out of both our doubles and one of our singles always came through,” he said. “It’s a little sad that the tennis season’s over; tennis has been my favorite season of high school.”

Although tennis tends to be an individual sport, Therattil had to rely on and work with Herrigel, his doubles partner, to perform well and win matches throughout the last two seasons.

“I played with Mike last year [too], and sophomore year, I played with Bobby Libera. [Mike and I have] really grown together over the last two years and he compliments me very well because he’s more fired up and emotional, while I’m more calm and relaxed,” Therattil said. “In terms of playing tennis, he’s more powerful and very aggressive at net, while I’m more of a baseline player so we compliment each other very well. It’s been really fun playing with him; I’m glad he was my partner for the past two years.”

The senior co-captain has been playing tennis since he was in elementary school and attributed part of his success on the varsity team to head coach John Delloiacono.

“He knows a lot about tennis and he always has good strategies during the match," Therattil said. "He’s one of my favorite coaches I’ve had and he’s taught me a lot about tennis and about life in general.”

Therattil will attend Duke University this fall, with plans to play intramural soccer, basketball and tennis.

Congratulations, Christina and Tony!