March 26, 2024 – Story by Ava DiCecca, photos by Joshua Ross
Boys tennis is back with an incredibly strong team this season and they are out for a Patriot League Title. They have all been putting in work in the offseason and are looking forward to making it pay off as the season begins. They have been a strong and successful team the past few years but this season, they are setting their sights on topping Duxbury in the postseason to move on in the tournament.
Alongside head coach Eric Gill, senior captains Liam Arnold, Travis Rugg, and Logan Price will be leading the team this year. They have a very experienced group with 11 returning players, a mix of strong sophomores, juniors, and seniors. They have many returning singles from last year including Parker Schultz and Ethan Warhaftig as well as the three captains who will continue to be huge for them this season. The doubles side is where they will need to focus this season and make some adjustments as they graduated most of their doubles last year. However, with the talent and experience present on this team, it should not be too difficult of a task.
Price exuded nothing but confidence and determination surrounding the upcoming season. He stated, “I think we are going to be really really good this year. I think we are a championship contending team.” He emphasized the hard work and depth of the team and was overall really excited about the idea of a far run in the playoffs which he sees as a very real possibility based on how the team is stacking up with tryouts getting started. When asked what his main goal for the season was he simply stated, “I want to win a championship this year.”
Equally confident about the upcoming season was Liam Arnold; however, he touched more on the community aspect of the team that allows them to be so successful. He seemed really excited about the younger players finding success on this team and what it could mean for their overall success in the tournament and for the program in the years to come. He commented, “our team especially is built off of very strong relationships on and off the court and being able to integrate into that community is really helpful for their growth as a player and as a leader on the team for future years.”
Coach Gill balanced these two focuses touching on both his tournament aspirations and intended environment for the team. As far as his post-season goals, he stated “we are strong and hopefully we can win the Patriot League this year. That will come down to what happens between us and Duxbury. We have been knocked out of the State Tournament in the round of eight for the past couple of seasons so hopefully we can get past some of those real strong division two teams.” They are looking to get past the obstacle that has been the Elite Eight for the past few years and with the talent and attitudes this team carries, it is looking like a strong possibility. On the team end, Gill is looking to his captains to aid him in continuing a positive environment that will allow them to achieve these goals. He complimented his captains and showed full faith in their abilities: “Those guys have been on varsity since freshman year so they understand the culture of the team and what I expect. They are really great leaders and really good guys both on and off the court and will certainly keep the positive culture of the team going.”
This year’s team seems to have all the components they need to achieve their championship goals. As long as they can utilize some new talent to fill in the gaps left by graduated seniors, there should be much confidence that they will get the better of Duxbury this year and hurdle the elite eight.