Wareham High School girls tennis coach Geoff Swett doesn’t know why the sport of tennis attracts so many of the smarter students at the school to his team.

“I really have no explanation for it,” said Swett after the team’s practice Thursday afternoon. “I’ve just been really lucky that close to 90 (out of 100) was the average GPA last year, and it could be even higher this year.”

Part of the reason for the high average is that three players in particular—senior Charlemya Erasme, senior Hope Wallace, and junior Nicole Russo—are all in the top five students in each of their respective classes. According to Swett, the three aren’t the only ones standing out in the classroom.

“There are other people on this team that are very good students—they just don’t happen to be in the top five (in their grade),” said Swett.

Though their coach didn’t have an explanation for his team's academic success, a few of his student-athletes formulated some opinions that certainly seem like logical explanations for the team's overall academic success.

Russo, who hopes to attend either Bridgewater State or UMass Dartmouth and who wants to be a prosecuting attorney, is in her first year with the team. She said that tennis isn’t an easy sport to pick up, and that it takes hard work and dedication to succeed, much like in the classroom.

“Being able to power through things—it’s the same with school,” she said, noting that there’s some critical thinking involved in the game as well. “The game involves strategy. You can’t just hit the ball. You have to have a plan.”

“It’s a very intellectual game,” said Erasme, who will attend UMass Dartmouth in the fall and will study Biology/Pre-Med.

Erasme said a lot of the players on the team are committed to sticking with the team because of Coach Swett and his leadership qualities.

“He’s a really great coach,” she said of Swett, who also serves on the School Committee. “He understands that we have academics to deal with.”

Similarly to Russo, Wallace, who will attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the fall for Computer Science, said that tennis and academics are similar because of the dedication both involve. She said that with singles tennis especially, “you’re on your own” on the court, and that’s often the case in the classroom.

“You have to be very motivated and driven,” said Wallace. “(In singles), it’s all on you. You have to have that motivation and drive in you to be able to do well.”

Swett said that the team, who is 3-11, didn’t get off to the greatest start this year, but after dealing with some internal issues, they’ve bonded and come together as a unit, and he expects them to do well in their four remaining matches.

“They’ve really gelled as a team,” he said. “They’re getting better and better.”

Though Swett isn’t quite sure why he’s been blessed with so many intelligent athletes on his team, he said that as their coach, the experience has been a positive one overall.

“They’re capable of learning, and taking learning very seriously,” he said. “They’re very educable—or even coachable.”