CONCORD — All season long, the Big Blue of Swampscott defied the odds. From miraculous comebacks, to upset wins, it’s been a season to remember for the boys tennis team. Unfortunately, their season ended on Monday evening as No. 2 Bedford beat No. 3 Swampscott 5-0.
Despite the scoreline, Swampscott can hold its heads up high as they battled for every point and made the Buccaneers earn every game.
The best match of the day was in the second singles where Sam Schepens and Bedford’s Jeremy Gu went the distance, and then some.
Schepens lost the match 5-7, 6-1, 5-5 (17-19) but he didn’t give up despite not feeling 100% and cramping up in the tiebreaker multiple times. Each point was celebrated by the players and the fans as if it were a championship set. Despite Bedford already clinching the match, they were fully invested in their player while Swampscott showed its togetherness by rooting for Schepens every step of the way.
Swampscott coach, Jen Bishop, talked about her teams willingness to never give up despite any circumstance.
“These kids dig deeper than any team I’ve ever had. We’ve had a season where we had to come back and find a way to win multiple times. Whether it was being down 0-5 in a set and winning it, or as a team relying on one match at the end to seal it, we’ve seen it all,” Bishop said.
Bedford took command of the match early, winning first and second doubles relatively quickly to ease some pressure off of the singles players.
The Bucs first singles beat Nick Custer and Trevor Talebian 6-2, 6-4, while their second doubles beat Julian Flacke and Lucas Bereaud 6-1, 7-5.
In third singles, Swampscott’s Maxim Zeissig lost to Rylan Nichols 2-6, 3-6, but it was a game that could have gone either way.
First singles, senior Charles Schepens lost to Bedford’s Dillon Denny-Brown 6-3, 6-4 to put a cap on Schepens Swampscott’s career.
Although the season ended for Swampscott, each member of the team made history.
“This is the furthest that any team has ever gone in the history of Swampscott boys tennis. This is a pretty big deal and I will say every single one of these players in some way contributed to us getting this far,” Bishop said. “As a coach, that’s a great feeling and the way they played today, they never gave up. They dug it out and that’s the spirit of our team.”
The Big Blue will lose 10 seniors who Bishop described as “great leaders.”
“They’ve helped everybody on this team. We’ve had kids that couldn’t even play tennis and through the seniors, they pulled the kids up and helped them improve,” Bishop said. “They spend time with everybody, on the court or off they enjoy being with each other. As a coach it’s great to see.”
Bishop applauded the teams determination and said that is one of the biggest things she’ll miss from this group.
“They’re all really good kids and most of them have been with me since they were freshmen,” Bishop said. “I got to see them progress and mature, and watch them never give up.”
No. 2 Bedford will face the winner of No.1 Weston/No. 5 Martha’s Vineyard Reg. which takes place on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
