Junior Profiles: Henry Burchenal and John Donnally

Henry Burchenal (Summit, NJ) and John Donnally (Madison, NJ) have played together now for three years. Henry • and John won the 12-and-under Nationals in 2002 and lost in the semi-finals of the 14-and-under Nationals in 2003.

They are both 8th graders who also excel in tennis, hockey and lacrosse. They are looking to improve on their semi-final finish in last year’s nationals by practicing more before this year’s tournament!

Henry plays the ad court but his strength is at the net where he loves to hit his favorite shot, which is his backhand volley. John’s strength from the deuce court is his return of serve. Both players love the challenge of difficult screen shots.

Henry keeps his 2002 Viking National Championship chair in his room along with his gold medal prominently displayed. John doesn’t know where his gold medal is and thinks his brother traded him something for the chair.

Henry’s favorite subject in school is history while John’s is a toss-up between gym and lunch. They are both big NJ Devils fans and have gotten to see the Stanley Cup in person!

Source: Platform Tennis Magazine, Vol. 5, Issue 1, September, 2003