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06/17/2021 12:00 AMCooper Whitehouse had an outstanding year with the Westbrook boys’ tennis team. Cooper turned in a 21-1 record on the season and won the Shoreline Conference No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 Singles Tournament. The senior was a major part of the Knights’ undefeated regular season, and helped them reach the Class S State Tournament final.
Cooper earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors thanks to his Shoreline Tournament victory. Cooper suspected that he had a good shot at the title, but it was still a surprise to come away with the tourney crown. Even more surprising was the fact that Cooper matched up with his fellow teammate Elliot Koplas in the final round.
“I was first seed. I knew I was going to do pretty well, but I wasn’t expecting that. The toughest matchup was in the final, playing Eliot Koplas who is the No. 4 player on our team. That was tough, he’s really good,” says Cooper. “It was kind of weird to play against him in that type of match. I think we’re pretty good friends though. We were having fun, but also trying to win.”
The Knights had a stellar campaign this year, and while they dominated the Shoreline Conference, Cooper says that at the beginning of the season, Westbrook wasn’t even positive they could form a full team.
“I think when we started the season since we only had one more player than we needed to play matches,” says Cooper. “We weren’t sure we would be good, but in our second or third match we played Old Lyme and beat them. That’s when we started to think that we might be really good.”
Cooper nearly went undefeated in all his matches this year, only sustaining one defeat against Valley in the State Tournament. Cooper wasn’t really paying that much attention to his undefeated streak because his main priority to help his team win.
“Being undefeated it was kind of just something I was less concerned about than I was for the whole team to go undefeated through the season,” Cooper said. “I was just trying to win my matches and help the team.”
Cooper was able to net plenty of victories for the Knights. Many of them were the result of Cooper not allowing himself to make costly mistakes, and outlasting his opponents.
“I’m a pretty defensive player, although in some of our games where I had to be more offensive,” Cooper said. “I mostly rely on being athletic and defensive. I play that way really well. Even though it’s not always consistent, I have solid forehands, and I’ve always thought that my net game was pretty solid, too.”
Cooper picked up a racket to pursue competitive tennis for the first time at the behest of Westbrook Tennis Head Coach Dan Shapiro, who is the Westbrook boys’ basketball team’s assistant coach. Also deciding to join alongside Cooper was his twin brother Gareth Whitehouse. Cooper thinks its pretty helpful to have someone always around to play a few sets for practice.
“I had played tennis one or twice, but I really started competing my freshman year. Coach Shapiro convinced me to join the tennis team when I was playing basketball my freshman year. My brother Gareth and I started at the same time. I think it helps,” says Cooper. “It’s nice to have someone to practice with when we need to. We help each other by watching each other play and giving advice. There are some things that he’s better than me at, and there are a few things that I’m better than him at. I think we’ve helped each other get better a little bit.”
Coach Shapiro was impressed with what Cooper was able to accomplish this season. Shapiro credited Cooper’s willingness to absorb advice to improve his technique because he wanted to record every victory he could.
“Cooper had an unbelievably successful year. Not bad for a kid who was a beginner as a freshman. Cooper had an unwavering will to win and learn. He was coachable in every sense of the word. Once he learned to manage the frustration of a tennis match, he was virtually unbeatable,” Shapiro said. “Anyone who doesn’t take the time to get to know Cooper is missing out. He’s smart, engaging, and he’s a terrific teammate. He did so much to help others on this team develop. I know I will always be in touch with Cooper, but I will definitely miss him next year.”
In the fall, Cooper will head off to William and Mary where he plans to pursue a major in the field of mathematics. Regardless of what happens at the next level, Cooper is grateful to his teammates for their support during the course of this season.
“I’m going in to feel it out when it comes to my major. I will be doing something mathematics-related, I know that much. I’m just not totally sure what I want to do yet,” Cooper says. “I’d like to thank them my teammates for such an amazing season.”