NEWTON — Repeating as state champions in any sport is a tall task, and a rare one at that.
Doing so after graduating three key players from the first title winning squad? That’s almost unheard of.
Despite the odds, the Manchester Essex boys tennis team has found a way to put themselves in position to do just that, now needing only one more victory to hoist another trophy.
Taking on fifth-seeded Cohasset in Monday’s Division 4 state semifinals match, the once beaten Hornets punched their ticket back to the finals with a dominant 5-0 decision. Both their returning core and new, stellar additions to the lineup were sensational in the convincing decision on a neutral site at Newton South High School.
“A big part of the heart and soul of (last year’s) championship team graduated … three big point getters,” explained Hornets’ head coach Robbie Bilsbury, referring to the loss of graduates Charlie Virden (No. 2 singles), Yan Vytopil (No. 3 singles) and Sander Breuker (second doubles) heading into this spring.
“But these guys have just grabbed the mantle and taken off with it, and it just shows the quality that we have up and down the lineup,” Bilsbury continued. “To have that much talent leave and then fill the void with kids that are hungry to grow every single day, working hard in practice … it’s awesome, it’s amazing.”
One of those newcomers, sophomore Alex Montaresi, has stepped up in a massive way to fill the shoes of Virden at second singles.
The rising star has had a phenomenal year and was once again in complete control against Cohasset to give his team their first point of the day. Montaresi didn’t drop a single game, rolling to a 6-0, 6-0 win in a match that lasted under an hour.
With him filling in at No. 2 singles so beautifully, it also allowed Bilsbury to keep his top doubles team of Finn Birkeland and Jack Lawler in tact all year. The Co-Cape Ann League Players of the Year have been exceptional all season, and Monday was no different as they cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win for another Hornet point.
“Alex really let us keep our first doubles team together that has seen a lot of tennis battles together,” said Bilsbury. “They’re a seasoned doubles team and without Alex we would’ve had to split them up for our lineup to work. So Alex has just been absolutely enormous for us to come in and fill big shoes.”
As for Birkeland and Lawler, Bilsbury couldn’t have been happier with their latest performance.
“I think (Cohasset’s) doubles was really a strength of their team, and that first doubles team had two huge kids that were really all over the net,” said Bilsbury. “Our guys weren’t used to that size; they’re used to easily lobbing over kids and I think they adapted pretty well. That was a tough match.”
At first singles, it was returning standout Jack Cummins who came up with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 win over a talented southpaw opponent in Eamon Maxwell. In a match that featured a number of lengthy rallies and tactical play from both players, Cummins was able to show patience by picking his spots well to either pass Maxwell with angled ground strokes or force him into an errant shot on the run.
“Jack had to flip all his patterns around because he’s not used to playing as many lefties in our league, so all of his favorite shots kind of went into the strengths of the opponent,” said Bilsbury. “Jack just really played well to kind of figure out the patterns that worked. It was great to watch.”
Unsurprisingly, unbeaten third singles star Charlie Langendorf earned his team another point with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over a pesky opponent, Dax Aberbach. The second doubles tandem of Shay Englehardt and Charlie Rubens sealed the team sweep with a 6-7, 7-6, (10-4) win in what was undoubtedly the match of the day.
“Absolutely awesome, three set battle. To win it in a tie break and get the 5-0 result was really nice,” added Bilsbury.
Now it’s on to the state championship match to face the winner of Sturgis Charter West and the Hornets’ finals opponent last year, Lynnfield. That match is slated to unfold on Tuesday, with the state finals tentatively set for Saturday at MIT.
It’s a long layoff for the Hornets, but not one that will shift their focus or determination to get the job done once again.
“We’ll stay loose; I have some alumni that will come down and hit with us which will be really good. We’ll have some feisty practices and stay sharp which is really all you can do at this point,” said Bilsbury. “The boys are in a good rhythm; they’ve taken little chunks of time off here and there with Senior Week activities and other things so they know how to manage that. We’ve also been tested in this tournament road so far which has really helped us get ready, so I think we should be in a pretty good place even with the long lay off.”