High School boys tennis has no reason to frown despite first round playoff exit
Tomas DeCanto launches a serve at his opponent. Photos by Bobby Grady
KJ Bonner connects on a return.
Landon Stewart leaps on his return.
Rija Bunting serves as he wins the last high school tennis set he will ever play.
Brett Brophy has his eye on the ball.
Chase Card winds up for a serve.
Ajani Rakotoarimanitra-Bunting reels back.
Tomas DeCanto launches a serve at his opponent. Photos by Bobby Grady
KJ Bonner connects on a return.
Landon Stewart leaps on his return.
Rija Bunting serves as he wins the last high school tennis set he will ever play.
Brett Brophy has his eye on the ball.
Chase Card winds up for a serve.
Ajani Rakotoarimanitra-Bunting reels back.
The Wareham High School boys tennis team took a trip across the canal to take on Bourne High School in the first round of the playoffs and while the Vikings did not emerge victorious, the team has no reason to hang their heads.
“I’m feeling optimistic,” said Head Coach Evan Wilga. “We have all seven starters returning next year and we’re adding a former starter who didn’t play this year due to a knee injury.”
The match held Friday, May 30 may have resulted in a 3 to 1 loss for the Vikings but it also marked the first trip to the playoffs in a decade for the team. Wilga said making it as far as they did was a pleasant surprise for both him and his players,
“I would have said six or seven wins but 13 was beyond what I thought we were going to get by a wide margin,” he said.
The Vikings finished the season with 13 wins and seven losses including three separate win streaks of at least four matches.
“We had a first doubles team that won 14 matches this year,” he said. “Typically singles is a crutch for us because other teams have kids that play tennis year-round and we don’t but they stepped up and won some matches for us.”
First singles player Landon Stewart echoed a similar sentiment to his coach and walked off the court feeling confident in the future of the team.
“Honestly we made it further than I thought we would,” he said. “I think we’ll definitely make it farther next year.”
One of the best moments of the season both Wilga and Stewart highlighted were the team’s two matches against a strong Mashpee High School team. Both said the Vikings battled to the last point to edge out two good wins.
“Going into those matches we knew it would be tough and we thought it was over three or four times but we kept coming back,” Wilga said. “To do that twice in the same season is crazy.”
Wilga added the playoff experience and seeing how successful the team can be bodes well for the team in years to come.
“The team will work on their game over the summer and come back next year refreshed and ready to go,” he said.
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