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Rapkins, Moncure on rise

June 23, 2009 12:35 am

By ADAM HIMMELSBACH

When James Monroe sophomore Caleb Rapkins played in the Group AA tennis singles final this month, he stopped to consider how far he had come.

One year earlier, Rapkins was in Strasburg, Germany, undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia injury.

He was told he would recover quickly, and that he would be back to smashing forehands before he knew it. But Rapkins, The Free Lance-Star's boys tennis player of the year, had also never been operated on, especially not in a foreign country.

But his father, Dennis, had researched the top sports hernia specialists in the world, and that led him to Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, who had performed surgeries on professional athletes like British soccer star Michael Owen and Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

So after it was clear that physical therapy would not be enough to dull the pain in Rapkins' abdominal area, the family made an appointment with Muschaweck and booked a flight to Germany.

Rapkins had begun to experience the pain during his freshman year at James Monroe.

It came and went, and felt more like a pinched nerve than something too serious.

The physical therapy sessions allowed Rapkins to play tennis in less pain than before, but they did not stop it from lingering.

Rapkins spent about two weeks in Germany, including recovery time.

A few weeks after he returned to Fredericksburg, he was back on a tennis court.

He could not move laterally, but he could stand still and gently hit the ball over the net.

Then he started taking long walks. Then he started moving around on the court a bit more.

And after about six weeks, he felt better than ever. And then he got back to becoming the best young tennis player in this area.

This season, Rapkins went undefeated in district play and won the Battlefield District's singles and doubles championships.

He also won his first Region I singles crown, and advanced to the Group AA state final, where he fell to Patrick O'Keefe of Salem High School, 6-1, 6-0.

"This kid's got a bright future as a college player," James Monroe coach George Christoforatos said. "And beyond that, who knows? He's got a big game."

When Rapkins was in elementary school, he played baseball instead of tennis. He batted left-handed, and that would eventually give him a natural backhand in tennis.

He played in his first United States Tennis Association tournament when he was 12.

"After that he came home and said, 'You know what? This is what I want to do,'" Dennis Rapkins said. "From that point on, it was basically tennis."

When Christoforatos began working with Rapkins, he noticed his big serve and his powerful forehand.

He knew right away that he had the potential to become a dangerous player.

"When he hits the forehand," Christoforatos said, "he comes out of his shoes."

That forehand helped carry Rapkins through the district and regional tournaments this year, and it nearly brought him a state title.

But then he ran into O'Keefe in the final. And the problem there is that, like Rapkins, O'Keefe is a sophomore.

So if Rapkins is to claim his first state crown over the next two seasons, there's a good chance he will have to go through O'Keefe.

Christoforatos said Rapkins needs to improve his second serve and to become more consistent. But he also said he has the potential to become a better player than the Salem star.

Rapkins will keep trying.

"I just need to work on being aggressive at the right time," Rapkins said. "And I need to keep improving."

Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com