Nutley High School Male Athlete of the Month

Krupesh Ray – senior varsity tennis player

You play doubles. Do you like being at the net or in back? How come?
“I like playing at the net because I can hit more winners there. I also like it so that I can help out my teammate, Yuvraj Raja, a lot by staying up there.”

How did you get into tennis?
“In seventh grade I used to play tennis with dad in India and I really loved this sport. So I got into it and played a lot my seventh and eighth grades in India.
So when I moved here I tried out and made it to the varsity team my freshman year.”

Are you stronger with your forehand or your backhand?
“I am way stronger on my forehand.”

Tennis is a big sport on TV. Do you watch much? Who’s your favorite player? How come?
“I love watching tennis on TV because it’s such a competitive sport and I watch every major championships from start to end. My favorite player is Andy Murray because he has so much hype and competitiveness in him, which motivates me to play tennis even more! If I were a professional tennis player, I would want to be like him.”

You’re a senior. What are your post-graduation plans?
“My post-graduation plan is to go to the New Jersey Institute of Technology and major in computer science there.”

What’s your best on-court memory?
“My best on-court memory is when I won the third setter match against Cedar Grove when we were down 3-4 in games to winning 6-4 with my partner, Andre Benitez. This match will be in my memory my entire life because we made our team win the SEC Conference Division in my sophomore year by winning this crucial match.”

If you won a free vacation to anywhere, where would you go?
“If I won a free vacation to anywhere, I would go to the spectacular city of Dubai, filled with all sorts of color lights, skylines, and the beach.”

“I am a very competitive, friendly and a very outgoing person and I don’t think lot of people know me by these traits.”

“Krupesh has been with me for four years. He was an extra player, then moved to second doubles, only to be replaced by new seniors last year and had to rotate. But he was very gracious and stuck it out and I know he felt bad about it, and maybe thought it was unfair. He came back this year as respectful as ever and challenged his way to first doubles, which he deserved.”
— Tennis Coach Valerie Martin