Season Preview: Lynnfield girls’ tennis out to repeat as champs

Coming off an undefeated season that was punctuated with a win in the state championship, expectations for the Lynnfield girls? tennis team are as high as ever going into this season.
Led by veteran coach Craig Stone, it looks like the Pioneers could be poised to repeat.The Lynnfield squad was nothing short of dominant in 2014, securing the Cape Ann League title with a perfect 16-0 record. The Pioneers then stormed through the playoffs, securing the Division 3 state title with a win against Notre Dame. The title was Stone?s fourth at the helm of the team.?Over the course of the year, never once did [a perfect record] become the focus of the season,” Stone said. “In retrospect, when you look back upon it, it was quite an accomplishment to win the state and also have an undefeated season…can?t ask for much more than that.”
Leading the Pioneers in their quest to repeat will be their returning number one singles player, Sarah Mezini, a sophomore who finished the season with an 18-1 individual record last season (a record that includes both the regular season and tournament play). Senior and captain Kelly Nevils will also resume her number two singles position after a 15-3 season in 2014. Kelly?s sister Katie Nevils along with senior captain Izzy Figucia will switch interchangeably between third singles and doubles.
While the Pioneers have the luxury of bringing back a strong core of players, they graduated seven seniors, including four of their top nine players, last year. The losses will be felt most prominently in the doubles game, as three of the four starting doubles players from last season were seniors. Olivia Skelley will be the only returning doubles starter, which leaves Stone the challenge of both finding a partner for Skelley and building an entirely new doubles team. However, the Pioneers have plenty of experienced players who can step into those roles and fill the gaps.
?[We are] returning 10 lettermen with experience from last year,” Stone said. “It?s just a matter of finding the right combination and the compatibility as well as personality, and we?ve got a couple months to work on that.”Assuming the weather allows for it, the Pioneers are set to begin their pursuit of back-to-back state titles on April 3 against North Andover. Even though his team has yet to get out onto the court, Stone has high expectations.?We have been very successful in the past and there?s no reason we can?t be successful this season,” Stone said. “We?re coming off a championship team and we obviously would like to return to that level and we?ll see what happens as we go along. [Entering the season] it?s not one of our goals to make the tournament. Our goal is always to win it. That?s what we shoot for, and the kids work hard to try and get there.”