LINWOOD – The Mustang boys tennis team lost its first match of the season, a 3-2 split against Eastern, but have reeled off eight straight wins since then.
Mainland Regional High School’s tennis team is the defending South Jersey Group III champion, having toppled perennial power Moorestown last spring, then lost five of its seven starters to graduation.
Head coach Chris Connolly had only two returning starters for this team but said his younger players benefit from a culture learned from their predecessors.
“We’re not exactly where we need to be, but they’re working hard and improving every day,” he said. “We lost five starters from last year so I was curious to see the leadership and skill and work ethic” of the new team.
He has been pleased by what he has seen.
The two returning starters are seniors Alex Wise, who is now at first singles, and second singles Chris Guillen, who was part of the Cape-Atlantic League champion first doubles team last year.
“Alex is great. He was third singles for us as s sophomore and then second singles as a junior and now first singles,” Connolly said. “He’s very consistent. Good leadership and work ethic. I’m glad to have him.
“Chris was CAL champions with Joe Deeb in doubles. He moved up to second singles. He is a great leader and a great teammate.”
Third singles is sophomore Saketh Agava. “He’s has been playing really well and had a great season so far,” Connolly said. “He has been a nice surprise for us. He played JV for us last year and he has made the jump …. We’re thankful to have him here.”
First doubles is juniors Tristan Miller and Ben Rosenberg. “They were our first JV doubles team last year. They got a little varsity experience the two years on our team. They’re playing well,” Connolly said. “They’re getting the whole deal of the pressure of being on varsity but doing well. I’m happy to have both of them. Ben has some great strokes and Tristan just gets to every ball.”
At second doubles are Kussh Patel, a junior, and Liam Angelo, a sophomore.
“They’re learning and getting better every day. They’re putting in the hard work,” the coach said. “We’ve played some good competition against Eastern High School, Middle Township, as well as other schools. They’re getting better every day. That’s all I can ask for them. They’re putting the effort in. They’re buying into having fun and getting better. That’s the two things that we want to do.”
Connolly acknowledges it’s tough to have such a large turnover from one season to the next. Two years ago the team lost only one senior to graduation, setting up their 2022 sectional championship team.
However, he said, “the seniors who graduated last year set the tone for the program the last couple of years. …. It’s definitely the program of the players who were there before them.
“It’s the mentality and the structure of what the players have done in the past. It makes my job easier as a coach because we have the same routines, the same traditions and the same expectations. That’s kind of nice we’re going out for that.”
There has also been a coaching change with Jon Evans leaving the program after three years and being replaced by Chris Meade, the varsity girls soccer coach. The volunteer coach is Chris Nazha. Meade and Nazha and both former Mustang tennis players.
“I’ve been very lucky to have some great assistant coaches. Chris is an alumni of the program. He played Mainland tennis back in the 1990s. I’m lucky to have him.
Nazha, he said, played second singles for the Mustangs for two years and also played third singles and doubles as a four-year varsity tennis athlete.
“It’s great to have him back. He comes here when his schedule allows. He’s a police officer here in Linwood. It’s nice he’s officially part of the team,” Connolly said. “I have two alumni which is awesome with Chris Meade and Chris Nazha. It’s a nice aspect for us.”
Connolly noted that over the years he has had the good fortune of having assistants who were coaches – often head coaches – from other sports working with him. Even if the coaches weren’t primarily from a tennis background, he said there was great value in having their coaching perspective and they worked together well to benefit the teams.
Even though the Mustangs are mainly new this season, the coach said the team has the same goals – to compete for the CAL title and go after another sectional championshipship. “We have some great teams we’ll play this year. It will be a battle. It was a battle last year, but more so this year. We want to be competitive in the conference and (battle) the other teams that are strong, especially Ocean City, which I would say is the favorite.
“The goal is definitely to try to win the conference and to win the Group III South Jersey playoffs,” he said.
The head coach since 2007 added that his team was fortunate to be the No. 1 seed in South Jersey the past two years, but probably won’t get that this year. However, he said, “I think we have the talent to be competitive, so that’s what I hope for.”
The Mustangs beat Middle Township 3-2 in their second match of the season and beat their next seven opponents 5-0.
On Friday, they will host Ocean City, which is 7-1 and lost only a close 3-2 match to Christian Brothers so far this season. Neither team has lost in the CAL.
Story and photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
