PEABODY — After three seasons of being on the outside looking in, things may be looking up for the Peabody boys and girls tennis teams.
Last year, the girls team failed to make the tournament for a third straight season. The Tanners last qualified in 2014, when the team earned the No. 3 seed in the North Division 1 tournament only to be swept by No. 6 Lexington in the quarterfinals.
The boys team had it even worse last year after it was forced to disband before the 2017 season even began due to lack of interest.
But with five of seven starters returning from last year’s girls team and the boys team back up and running after a one-year hiatus, and with newly resurfaced courts at the high school, Peabody tennis is, once again, alive and well.
“We have some girls coming back with varsity experience,” said girls coach Lorraine Benoit. “After that, it’s a whole new slew of kids who have never played tennis or any other sport, for that matter, so they will be learning on the job. A lot of them seemed to have come in with friends from last September’s intramurals, so it will depend on how fast they pick it up.”
The situation for the boys team is a little different as the talk isn’t so much about making its tournament; it’s about the fact that the boys actually have a team again.
This year’s team may be young, both in age and experience, but the Tanners are eager to roll.
Maureen Kelly is back again at the helm after serving as coach from 2013-2015. Keith McBride, who coached the team in 2016, will serve as Kelly’s assistant. With only seven players so far, suffice it to say, players will certainly see a lot of individual attention.
“We have only seven players so far, but I have my fingers crossed that a couple more athletes are coming, and they are pretty much all new to the sport, but they are all so excited to be playing,” said Kelly. “Most of them have never had a lesson or participated in organized tennis, but they are eager to learn and have already shown improvement and a willingness to listen and learn.”
The girls team will be led by its four senior captains — Angela Ferrer, April Horwarth, Shaelyn Kelley and Lindsey Kouroyen, all of whom started at doubles last year.
Back again for another year at first singles is junior Brooke Hodas.
“The only sure thing is Brooke will play first singles, and it looks like the four seniors will be vying for second and third singles,” said Benoit. “It will all depend on what we see once we start ladder play.”
Benoit will be assisted, once again, by Kathy Strange and Ann Flynn.
The Tanners open the season next Monday (April 9) with an NEC contest at Revere.
The boys team may have an ace up its sleeve, thanks to a middle school waiver, in 7th grader Paul Neal, who is slated to step in at first singles. Neal is a year-round USTA player. Most recently, Neal played his way into the semifinal round of the 14 boys division at the New Hampshire Challenger circuit event held March 23-25 at the Nashua Swim and Tennis Club.
“Paul is a ranked player in New England in only his first year in the age group and is very gifted, so he will obviously play first singles for us, but after that, they are all brand new,” said Kelly. “It’s funny because when I was coaching before, we used to watch him hitting with his mom when he was just a little guy and we all used to ask, ‘how can we get this kid on our team?'”
With no seniors, juniors Calvin Anton, Peter Kadeli and Yasser Khader will be looked to for leadership, Kelly said.
“They have definitely stepped up and taken on a big role as leaders,” she said. “Nobody asked them to, they just did it on their own. We had talked about what it meant to have middle school kids on the team in terms of the older kids needing to watch the way they acted, and honestly, the older kids understood it without my even saying anything.”
Freshman Matheus deSa and 7th graders Kacper Latacz and Nate Sorrell also made the team.
“We will be depending on everyone from top to bottom to contribute,” Kelly said. “We are just all very excited about the season and It just feels great to have the team back again.”
