High School Tennis:
Younger Coach Mack Defeats Older Brother

Thursday, September 30, 1999

By Bob Stewart
SJSports Staff Writer

On Thursday, at Edgewood High School, the Lady Eagles of Edgewood challenged the Ladies of Palmyra in a non-conference match. This match may not be one that the news reporters rush to cover, but it was significant to us. It was the battle of the Mack Family. Edgewood's Jeff Mack was challenging his older brother, John. As an added incentive, his niece, #1 singles Lauren Mack, also plays for Palmyra.

A little of the Mack family history: John, the elder, started coaching the Palmyra Boy's Tennis Team in 1970. In 1977, one of his players was his younger brother, Jeff. The team made it to the Conference Finals, but lost 3-2. John started the Palmyra Ladies program in 1973 and has been coaching all of these 31 years. Jeff, the younger, is a 14 year veteran, starting with coaching the Edgewood Ladies in 1985, and assistant and then head coach of the Edgewood Boy's program for the last 12 years. Jeff also runs the "Jeff Mack All Star Tennis Camp" every June. Guess who he has hired as one of his instructors? Yes, his older brother John.

After today's 5-0 win by Edgewood, the Mack Family rivalry stands at Jeff 5 - John 1, with an overall season record for Edgewood of 7-1. Jeff noted before the match that the last time that Edgewood was the host, in 1997, was Palmyra's only win. The win was not only a source of pride for Coach Jeff Mack, but also a relief that he wouldn't have to purchase a car for his niece.

The results of the match were:

1st Singles:   Alexis Switenko (Edgewood) def Lauren Mack (Palmyra) 6-3, 6-1.
2nd Singles:   Erin Riley (Edgewood) def Jade Burroughs (Palmyra) 6-2, 6-4.
3rd Singles:   Kristin Wolf (Edgewood) def Sarah Robertson (Palmyra) 6-1, 6-2.
1st Doubles:   Andrea Johnson/Beth Chishlom (Edgewood) def Lea Gift/Jane Chesson (Palmyra) 6-0, 6-0.
2nd Doubles:   Jennifer Cooper/Michelle Hammersley (Edgewood) def Alison Merz/Jeanine Fackler (Palmyra) 6-2, 6-4.

Photos by Boog Williams