LYNNFIELD — When you lose five starters to graduation, it’d be easy to think about a rebuild.
Not so much with the Lynnfield boys tennis team, which is hoping this is the year to finally break through and win its first state title in program history after coming up short in the championship match the last three years.
“We had a good nucleus the last few years, but the kids who are coming up now knew they were going to have their opportunity this year and they worked hard,” said Coach Joe Dunn Sr., now in his 10th season with the Pioneers. “I encouraged and reminded them that they have to be ready because, at any point, they could be called in. I love the camaraderie and they are having fun on the court. When that happens, they play better. I feel good about this team and feel we should have a good team.”
The Pioneers finished the 2024 regular season 15-1, earning the top seed. They cruised through the first two rounds with shutout wins against Mashpee and Leicester.
After that, things got interesting. After defeating Cohasset 4-1 in the Elite Eight, the Pioneers punched their ticket to the final with a 3-2 win over league rival Hamilton-Wenham.
The Pioneers were one set from clinching the title, but Manchester-Essex came from behind to steal it, 3-2.
The Pioneers took a huge hit from graduation, losing six seniors. Five were regular starters who made significant contributions throughout the season and in past years.
Gone are the likes of CAL Player of the Year and Daily Item All-Star Dan Levin; CAL All-Star Russell Kasdon (3rd singles), CAL All-Star Kurt Ruthermond (2nd doubles), CAL All-Star Slate LoPilato (2nd doubles), and Brendan Sokop (1st doubles).
The Pioneers will be led by senior captains Shea McCarthy, Raffi Arkun, and Shlok Kudrimoti.
“Their leadership is key,” Dunn said. “So much so that the first day of tryouts was all about leadership. We also named seniors Matt Reinold, Ashkrit Mahajan, and Emile Coumans as senior leaders.”
While there are multiple key positions to fill, the good news is there are three returning starters with multiple years of varsity experience who were CAL All-Stars.
That group starts with McCarthy, an All-Star at second singles last year who will move up to first singles.
“Dan (Levin) and Shea were both so talented that they were co-No. 1 in reality,” Dunn said. “I can already see from the ladder matches that Shea is playing at such a high level, so I expect he will hold on to that spot. All in all, we lost some great seniors.”
Kudrimoti, a 2024 CAL All-Star at second doubles, started at doubles and some third singles, and could move up to all singles.
Reinold, also a CAL All-Star at second doubles, and Arkun, who played doubles and some singles last year, are also in the mix for starting positions.
Dunn said junior Andee Shieh and sophomores Rowan Bayer, Brady Trippe, Ritvik Mahajan, Rishabh Anand and Mahir Akhter are “all in the running for starting positions and varsity matches.”
Dunn said the biggest challenge will be sorting out the doubles pairs.
“There’s going to be a lot of work, a lot of mixing them up a little bit. The first couple of weeks, we are doing some work drills and also doing some match drills to see the people who work well together,” Dunn said. “But we don’t have any brand new players who came in that you would say, ‘Wow, look at this one,’ someone you knew who would be an immediate impact player. I usually get one or two like that, but not this year.”
Dunn said he expects Newburyport to be the cream of the Cape Ann League crop.
“They were really strong last year. We squeaked by them, 3-2, last year, but all of the matches were tough,” Dunn said. “And, all of their starters are back so they will be the toughest team in the league – you have to think. Like us, Hamilton-Wenham and Manchester-Essex lost some strong players, but they will be good. They always seem to have guys ready to step up, but so do we and we are eager.”
The Pioneers open the season at home with a non-league match against Bishop Fenwick on Monday. Their first league match is the next day against Hamilton-Wenham, also at home. The Pioneers close out the regular season May 21 at Marblehead.
