ME boys’ tennis team practicing for the 2023 season.
(Photo Paul Clark)
While there is a good deal of talent returning, it’s easy to focus on what the Manchester Essex boys’ tennis team lost due to graduation last year when it comes to roster construction. This was a team that made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament before being knocked out by Cohasset, a squad that lost key contributors such as the first doubles team of Owen Bappe and Remsen Demeo, along with all-everything first-singles standout John Pope.
“Those were big losses for us, including one of the best players we’ve had in the history of the program,” explains boys tennis coach Rob Bilsbury. “Losing a solid number one like that is definitely impactful, along with the other seniors. When you lose that kind of leadership, it kind of taps the next class on the shoulder to say, ‘Who is going to step up?’”
Helping to answer that question will be the four captains for the 2023 team, a group that includes Charlie Virden, Jack Cummins, Finn Straub and Alexander Breuker. While Straub is the only senior in the group, the entire foursome has stepped up to the challenge of filling the shoes of those departed players.
“Those guys stepped up even before the season started,” explains Bilsbury. “They were out there hitting whenever possible.”
Cummins projects as the number one singles player for the Hornets this spring, while Virden should step into second singles fairly comfortably.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement from both of them,” says Bilsbury. “Jack’s serve is better, Charlie’s backhand is better, and with both of them their footwork has improved.”
Straub and talented sophomore Jack Lawler are close enough in performance so far that they are interchangeable either at third singles or first doubles. For the first match of the season against Ipswich on April 5, Lawler was set to get the start at third singles while Straub would pair with Jan Vytopil to form a solid first singles team.
Second singles looks like it could be a rotating cast of players based on who is performing the best out of the rest of the 14-person roster. The list of candidates heading into the start of the season included Erik Bischoff, Finn Birkeland, Charlie Lagendorf and Ben Tobin.
“We’ve got some stability at singles, but doubles are up in the air,” says Bilsbury. “We’ve got lots of kids vying for the second doubles spot throughout the year. That’s the nice thing about tennis, you can keep things feisty in practice and the kids will keep getting a chance to play and get into the varsity lineup.”
The Hornets were slated to start the season against Ipswich for the second year in a row, going on the road to open the season against the Tigers on April 5, followed by the home-opener against Masconomet a day later and a road match against Swampscott on April 10 (4 p.m.). Manchester Essex beat Ipswich by identical 5-0 scores last season in both matchups, but it’s a whole new season beginning this week.
“Ipswich is really well-coached,” explains Bilsbury. “John Tracy is their coach; every time we play Ipswich at the beginning of the season they always are even better at the end. They will be well-coached, and their doubles teams know how to play, so it will be a really good challenge for us to open the season.”
