Salem High junior Drew Perez has begun his quest for a second straight Virginia High School League tennis singles championship this week in the Region 4D tournament. Perez is undefeated coming into the tournament and 48-3 in singles during his high school career through Monday’s region quarterfinals, which he won 6-0, 6-0.
Drew comes into the post-season as the favorite and defending state champ. The two players who beat him in the past three years won’t be in the tournament. As a freshman he lost in the region tournament to Gordon Fairborn, a senior at the time who went on to win the state championship. Last year he lost one match during the season to Lucas Beasley of Christiansburg, but Drew beat him the second time they played and they didn’t go up against each other in the post-season as Christiansburg is a Class 3 school and Salem is Class 4.
“We’ve always had battles,” said Perez of Beasley. “We’d go to tournaments together and we’ve played doubles together. He’s become a good friend.”
Drew defeated Neel Paaunuri of Broad Run in last year’s championship match, 6-3, 6-0, to claim the Class 4 title. One of his toughest matches was against Sean Frank of Charlottesville in the region final and Frank is back in the tournament this year and anxious for a rematch this week.
This season has been a little different for Drew, as he’s spent much of the school year at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. He’s been taking classes at Salem High on line and he’s been home enough to play the required number of matches for state tournament participation.
When he’s at Hilton Head he’s been staying with Chris O’Keefe, who has a house five minutes away from the Smith Stearns courts. She was Chris Nelson when she was a standout player for Salem High, and after marrying Mike O’Keefe their two boys, Patrick and Harrison, won state championships with the Spartans.
Chris has given lessons to many of the top players in the area, and now goes back and forth between Salem and Hilton Head. Patrick is the Director of Tennis at the Sea Pines Racquet Club, and they share courts with the Smith Stearns Academy. Harrison O’Keefe lives in Dallas and gives lessons there.
It’s been an interesting experience for Drew. In the past he spent a few weeks at the academy in the summer, but living there full time has not only upped his game but given him an insight on what it takes to be a champion tennis player. His daily routine is a challenging one at the academy, founded by tennis legend Stan Smith.
“I wake up early at around 7:30,” said Perez. “Then I practice tennis from 8 to 10 before getting a break from 10 to 2:30. That’s when I do my school work. I really like learning in person better but I figure this will help prepare me for college.
“At 2:30 I’m back on the tennis court until 4:30. Then, from 4:30 to either 5:30 or 6:30, depending on what day it is, I have conditioning.”
If you wonder why someone needs “conditioning” after playing tennis for four hours during the day you’re probably not alone.
“It’s crazy,” said Drew. “I’m so tired by the end of the day.”
Drew’s parents, Jill and Scott Perez, have had to adjust to Drew not being around all the time.
“It’s been incredibly hard,” said Jill, who is the first year girls’ tennis coach at Salem High School. “The decision for him to move to Hilton Head Island to Smith Stearns happened two weeks before school was scheduled to start in August of last year. We had to make a quick decision, and it was not easy. Ultimately, we knew it was becoming too hard to piece meal together daily training for Drew here in the Roanoke Valley. Most kids his level train for four to five hours a day with players at their level or higher. We simply don’t have that here and if Drew had any chance at playing in college, we knew we needed to give him the opportunity to maximize his potential, whatever that may be.”
Drew comes from a sports oriented family. His grandfather, Bob Archer, played linebacker for state football championship teams at Andrew Lewis under legendary coach Eddie Joyce. Bob’s younger sister Jackie played basketball and tennis on the first Salem High teams when it opened in 1977 and she was outstanding in both.
Jill, Bob’s daughter, was a standout tennis player at Salem High and Radford University and her sister Lori (now Rabile) was a champion distance runner at Salem High who went on to run at Wake Forest. Drew’s dad, Scott Perez, started playing tennis after college and that’s where he met Jill.
While Drew is now “all tennis” it wasn’t always that way. He played on Salem Recreation football and basketball teams and played tennis and lacrosse until the eighth grade, when he decided his future would be tennis.
“Lacrosse was actually my favorite,” he said. “When I decided tennis would be my main focus there was no point to playing lacrosse. There wasn’t enough time to do both.”
Mom made sure she didn’t push her son into the sport that has meant so much to her.
“My husband Scott is also a tennis player, so Drew had no option but to give tennis a try at a young age,” said Jill. “We knew early on he had great hand-eye coordination to make contact with the ball on the tennis court but that also translated on the lax field. I wasn’t sure how it would pan out but, of course, I secretly wanted him to learn to love tennis as it was something he could do for life. I tried not to push him, and I knew it had to be his decision.”
By his freshman year Drew was already one of the top players in the state. Salem High boys’ coach Steve Lily could see him coming.
“Drew is among the most talented players I have coached,” said Lily. “Scott Gibson (former SHS coach) told me he noticed Drew’s ability at once years ago.
“I have coached over 60 nationally-ranked players and about 12 who played pro tennis with varying success. I raised a girl who was the national high school champion. Three students won USTA national events and one was an Israeli national winner. Their success is, of course, attributed to their own skill and perseverance.
“One of my assistants was the on-court coach of John McEnroe under legendary coach Harry Hopman, coach of Laver, Rosewall, Newcome, Roche, Emerson. He showed me some racquet control exercises and tricks John would do and my opinion is that Drew has a special aptitude for controlling the racquet face and has some tricks of his own.
“Drew is still in rapid-improving mode. Training at the Smith Stearns Academy has helped move his game up a notch from 2024. There is much upside.”
While Drew is the undisputed “big dog” on the Salem High team he doesn’t come off as cocky or condescending.
“All the players on the team respect Drew,” said Lily. “They admire his tennis, but more importantly we all enjoy his team spirit, good humor, and willingness to play with everyone, even beginners. He was a rock star at last year’s tennis camp conducted with the Recreation Department.”
Drew plans on playing college tennis but isn’t looking to make a career of it. His goal is to study finance and continue playing tennis for fun. Professional tennis is not in his future.
“In professional tennis the level is ridiculous,” he said. “College is so competitive, the top Division I schools are comprised of mostly international players. In professional tennis you’re basically competing against the rest of the world.”
Tommy McDonald, a former Salem High and collegiate standout, is one of Drew’s practice partners. Tommy is quite the competitor and he still plays for fun.
“Tennis is a lifetime sport,” said Perez. “A lot of kids get burned out on the game but I still find it fun. It’s hard work, but the fun comes with winning.”
The Perez family has made lots of friends on the court, both through Jill and Scott’s experiences and now raising Drew.
“Tennis is a sport that everyone should learn,” said Jill. “It’s a sport for life and you meet so many wonderful people on the tennis courts. I met my husband on the tennis courts in Raleigh and we have so many wonderful tennis friends here in the Roanoke Valley.
“The O’Keefes are not just friends, but we consider them family. Chris O’Keefe was my coach growing up and we both played at Salem High School and at Radford University. I was Patrick and Harrison’s regular babysitter and would travel on vacations with them to watch the boys. Chris has been Drew’s coach since he was five years old and he and Patrick are like brothers! I can promise you, Drew would not be where he is today without the support and encouragement of the O’Keefe family. It has taken a village to get Drew to where he is today.”
While Drew has played in many prestigious tournaments, the Virginia High School League matches are right up there. Jill and Scott will be on the edge of their seats in the weeks ahead as Drew pursues a second straight state championship. He’ll also be playing with the team and doubles with teammate Logan Butcher, Salem’s number two player. They’re undefeated in doubles, including Monday’s region quarterfinal win over the duo from E.C. Glass.
“I always get a little nervous, but I have never felt as nervous as I did last year at the Regional Finals and the State Semi-Final match,” said Jill. “We knew the opponent in the semi-finals was going to be more difficult than the potential opponent in the finals. Tournaments are typically played to gauge a player’s progress and there is always a consolation bracket. You lose your first round, and you move to play through the back draw. The school regional and state tournaments are one and done. He was playing for his school and if you lose, it’s over. I know for a fact, I was way more nervous than Drew was.”
Drew is excited to be back in the state tournament, and at the end of the day he knows it’s up to him. There’s not much mom or Coach Lily can do once the volleying begins.
“Steve is very encouraging and supportive, but in the end it’s just you and yourself,” said Drew. “It can be tough mentally. If something goes wrong you have to figure it out on your own.”
So far, Drew’s been able to do just that. His success speaks for itself as he begins his quest to defend his state championship this week.
shot in a match at Salem this season.
