Ponaganset and St. Raphael boys tennis form co-op to compete in Division I – The Providence Journal

Marc Valldeperez March 25, 2024

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What do you get when you cross a Division II boys tennis team that didn’t have enough players to field a full lineup last year and won only four matches with a Division III team that nearly won a title despite not having a full lineup and had only four returning players this spring? A state title contender.

Co-ops are nothing new in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. They allow students to participate in sports they otherwise wouldn’t be able to, such as Prout playing football with Exeter-West Greenwich; or bring a city together — Pawtucket’s done it well; or become a regional haven for a sport that’s trying to stay alive — basically all of the girls hockey programs and some of the boys programs.

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The newest was made out of necessity.

Ponaganset and St. Raphael have joined forces this spring to create a boys tennis team. While neither program has competed at the state’s highest level for quite some time, these two teams will certainly be able to. What they lacked in numbers they more than made up for in top-end talent, and the marriage will allow them, for the first time in a while, to show up to matches and not be behind on the scoreboard.

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“Both of us are going to be very happy to start a match 0-0 as opposed to being down one or two and, in a couple of times in their case, three,” St. Raphael coach Scott Corain said. “It’s going to be a big relief.”

So, how did two teams that are, as far as most Rhode Islanders are concerned, an overnight hotel stay away from each other? And how are they suddenly a contender with the best teams in the state?

It started with Ponaganset, which had two of the best eight players in the state last year — No. 1 Josh Steere and No. 2 Ethan Clegg — but went 4-8-1 in D-II because it had seven players on its roster, depleting a built-in advantage that comes with its top two players.

Down in Division III, St. Raphael was also hanging on by a thread. The Saints had two of the state’s best players in No. 1 Travis Chartier and No. 2 Milo Crisp, but didn’t have a full roster. In the Division III title match, St. Raphael was down 1-0 before a point was played before ultimately losing to Chariho, 4-2.

The Chieftains knew it needed to co-op with someone to keep the program alive. During a girls match last fall, Brian Steere, who co-coached the boys with wife Amy and was an assistant for the girls, was talking with Corain (who was facing similar issues with only four players coming back) about potentially bringing the programs together.

While it makes no sense geographically, the travel wasn’t a worry. Keeping the programs going and giving them a chance to compete was. They brought the proposals to their athletic directors, who brought it to the RIIL in time to get it approved for the spring.

The two entities in the co-op also agreed on one thing — it needed to be placed in Division I.

It seems like a giant leap. Many schools avoid moving up in order to chase titles in lower divisions against lower competition. “St. Ponaganset,” or whatever it’s going to call itself, wanted to do the opposite.

With Josh Steere, Clegg and Chartier, in some order, the team has a top of the ladder that doesn’t have a lot of rivals outside of three-time state champ La Salle.

The trio have had immense success during their high school careers. Brian Steere, Josh’s father, said his son has lost one match in league play since his freshman year and he couldn’t remember Clegg losing a single match outside of the state singles tournaments. Corain said the same thing about Chartier, who has dominated in Division IV, then in Division III the last two seasons.

Regular-season matches this season, regardless of what spots they hold on the ladder, will be more difficult than any they’ve played in their careers, and that’s a good thing.

“For those top three players, they’re all going to play at the next level,” Corain said. “Getting them quality matches now is going to help them not only this year but beyond.

“I don’t know a lot about some of the D-II teams and I know some probably have strong programs, but from our perspective, we probably wouldn’t have gotten a lot out of it. It wouldn’t have been close to the level or challenge they’ll see this year.”

“Last year’s practices, there wasn’t much we could do,” Brian Steere said. “I couldn’t be too hard on the kids; they were excited but they knew practice was when they were going to get their best tennis and I know Travis was the same way.

“This year, we’ve already come out in the first week of practice and I see the pep in their step. They know it means something and they have to go out and get better, learn from their matches and learn to play points and fight back.”

The strong top three hardly guarantees wins.

Steere and Corain are both excited to get to work with the rest of the lineup. Ponaganset’s Cristian Wagner may fill out the singles lineup, but the coaches know doubles is going to be key in finding victories. It’s not going to be an easy process – because practicing as a group isn’t one either.

St. Raphael has a small van Corain uses to take his four Saints — Chartier, returning doubles players Joe Rekrut and Blake Webster and sophomore newcomer Logan Gallagher — from Pawtucket to Ponaganset, which has six courts on campus. Once the ladder matches are finished and the season begins, the schools may practice separately — with the Saints using Slater Park and the Chieftains using their own courts.

The team will play the majority of its home matches at Ponaganset, but is planning to play two at Slater so Chartier can have a proper Senior Day.

What happens if a player from one school and a player from the other end up being a doubles team? That’s a problem to worry about later.

“It’s going to represent a challenge,” Brian Steere said. “Somebody’s going to get fourth singles and I have eight kids, he has four, so there all in the mix for doubles and that’s going to be the challenge — to get those kids up and ready for D-I.

“Fortunately, we’ll have a senior [Doug Baima] in that spot with plenty of tennis experience and he’ll be able to work with whoever, whether it’s one of his teammates or someone he’s unfamiliar with.”