LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield boys tennis team has a tough act to follow.
The Pioneers had a season to remember last year. They finished the regular season undefeated at 15-0 and claimed their first Cape Ann League championship since 2003. The top seed in the Division 3 North tournament, the Pioneers earned a first-round bye, then raced through the next two rounds without dropping a match to advance to the finals with an opportunity to win their first sectional title since 1986.
Unfortunately, No. 6 seeded and defending state champion Weston had other ideas as it won a dramatic 3-2 thriller to dash the dreams of the Pioneers.
“It was tough to come so close and we all wanted it so badly, but we gave it our all and just couldn’t pull it off,” said Lynnfield coach Joe Dunn.
The match against Weston was a battle from start to finish that started and ended with a third-singles showdown that took 2½ hours to complete. Weston sophomore Josh Li rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat Lynnfield senior captain Colin Lamusta to clinch the match. Weston went on to win the state title.
This year, the Pioneers must find a way to overcome the loss of all three singles starters, a group that accounted for 41 wins. That group included Max Rothermund (12-4 at 1st singles), 2-year captain Arlex Correa (13-3 at 2nd singles) and 3-year captain Lamusta (16-1 at third singles).
Correa’s now making his mark at Roger Williams University in doubles, while Lamusta made his collegiate debut for Bridgewater State last week against Southern Maine, winning his doubles and singles matches to earn Little East Rookie of the Week honors.
Also gone is first doubles standout Lorenzo Russo, who posted a final record of 16-1 with junior partner Michael Gentile. The pair also earned CAL All-Star honors last year. Russo is playing singles and doubles at Curry College.
But fast forward to this year and Dunn says, despite losing four key members of his starting lineup, the Pioneers are ready to pick up where they left off.
“They will all be missed no doubt about it,” said Dunn, now in his fourth season as Lynnfield’s coach. “Last year I knew we had a good team, but didn’t realize that they were as good as they ended up being. We just took it one match, one day at a time. I loved working with them and I cannot tell you how excited they were to see the league championship banner in the gym.
“This year, we need to do the same thing and take it day by day. We have some talent so the boys and I are very excited to get going.”
Michael Gentile and twin brother David return for their fourth varsity season and will serve as co-captains along with sophomore Jamil Khodr. David settled in last year at second doubles with Khodr. The pair finished the season undefeated at 14-0 and also picked up CAL All-Star honors.
“The captains have been great,” said Dunn. “They have wanted to be involved in everything, including staying after practice to help with the JV team. It’s like having three assistant coaches.”
Seniors Matt Gunning, Michael Maffeo and Nick Dow along with junior Jason Stelman also return.
Freshmen Harrison Luba, Jason Yang and David Kasdon also made the varsity cut.
Dunn said Luba has been a pleasant surprise and is in the mix for a starting position at singles with the Gentile twins and Khodr.
“He (Luba) will be a fun player to watch over the next four years,” said Dunn.
“It’s still early, but right now we have four players competing for the top-two singles spots and the two who don’t make it will be strong candidates at first doubles or third singles, depending on who wins challenge matches this week and next.”
The Pioneers open the season with two non-league matches. They’ll host North Andover next Monday, (3:30) and will take on Swampscott, also at home, next Thursday (3:30).
For a second straight year, Lynnfield will play an exclusion match against powerhouse St. John’s Prep. That match is set to be played Friday, May 3 at St. John’s (3:30).
“That was the most exciting match of the season last year,” Dunn said. “The court was jammed with spectators and while the match didn’t count, we played so well and could have beaten them had a couple of points gone our way. I was blown away with the way we played under such pressure and was so happy with our performance.”
Lynnfield starts its league schedule April 17 with a road match at Manchester-Essex (10).