Ipri, H.S. Tennis’ Winningest Coach, Retires

Ipri will be replaced by Greg DeWolf, an assistant for the Cougars last season.

“He has been instrumental in the development of tennis in Cherry Hill and in South Jersey,” Cherry Hill East athletic director John Burns said of Ipri. “Those are big shoes to fill.”

Ipri is listed as the No. 1 coach in career wins in boys’ tennis in the National Federation of High School Associations record book.

Ipri, 68, said the decision to end his 41-year run at Cherry Hill East was “mutual” between himself and the school administration.

Ipri said he has been leaning toward retirement, and Burns confirmed that the administration “prefers” to have its head coaches working in the building, as opposed to in an adjunct capacity.

Ipri has been an adjunct coach since he retired from teaching seven years ago.

“They’ve been great to me,” Ipri said of the Cherry Hill administration. “I knew when I retired from teaching that this was a possibility.”

Ipri said he was most proud of Cherry Hill East’s status as one of the state’s best programs through most of his career.

“We competed all the time,” Ipri said. “The kids at East, they competed with the best around. It was like in the classroom. They went out there and did the best they could every day.”

Ipri, a Bishop Eustace Prep graduate, began coaching as a 23-year-old. His first players at Glassboro are now in their 60s.

“All through the years, I got to meet so many great young men and young women,” said Ipri, who also coached the girls’ team at Cherry Hill East for eight seasons. “There were a lot of fresh faces every year, and so many of them went on to be successful people.”

Ipri’s teams at Cherry Hill East won eight state titles and finished second in the state nine times, all in Group 4.

Ipri’s 1991 team won the Tournament of Champions. Those Cougars are the only South Jersey team to capture that title.

“That was a special team,” Ipri said of the 1991 squad that featured singles players Steve Gola, Steve Levy, and Jared Morris.

Ipri said Ravi Yegya-Raman, who won the state singles title in 2007 and 2008, was his best individual player.

Ipri said he plans to play “more golf” and spend more time with his four grandchildren.

“It’s going to be strange,” Ipri said of not coaching. “But it’s going to be fine.”