Peter Conklin: Tremendous Tennis Player

Peter Conklin ’17, one of the four captains of Hopkins Varsity Tennis, has been playing the sport at Hop since seventh grade. Coach Bryan Adinolf said, “[Conklin] was a ninth grader my first year coaching. He loves pressure. He is a great competitor and is clutch when his team needs him. His work ethic is off the charts and the intensity he plays with is a perfect example for any other teammates.”

Conklin’s love for the game originated from his father, who played college tennis. Accord- ing to Conklin, “My dad started feeding me tennis balls when I was about four years old at the local high school. I just started to fool around at that age. He has loved [tennis] his whole life and he wanted to share it with me.”

Conklin leads by example on and off the court. Co-Captain Ben Collier ’17 said: “Pete deserves all the praise he can get for his commitment to the team over the last six years. Peter always looks to help the team improve. Having such a strong leader at the top of our lineup allows every other player to enter their matches with confdence.”

Even without the title of captain in his previous years, Conklin laid the foundation of a successful tennis team for all six years of his career at Hopkins. Adinolf praised his leadership and high values. “Peter has grown into and helped perpetuate the ‘team culture’ that we are lucky to have and continually encourage as a priority, despite tennis being an individual sport.”

This year, Conklin hopes to help his team conquer the New England tournament, as he has done in years past. In addition, he hopes to win the singles FAA tournament.

Adinolf believes he can easily achieve the goals of this year: “Peter displays toughness during competition like very few players I have coached. [Conklin had] toughness in how he fights and competes and how he thrives in pressure situations. Also, [he has] a toughness in how he deals with the rare occasion of losing...without excuses, but with grace, and with the determination to rebound.”

After graduating from Hopkins, Conklin plans to take his skills to Dartmouth College.