Updated 11 am, Thursday
In not much over an hour, Barnstable High School made quick work of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) boys’ varsity tennis team Tuesday, winning all five matches by large margins.
It was the team’s first game under new coach Eric Meyer, who coached girls and boys teams at Concord Academy for the past 20 years. But there was little he could do — the Vineyarders were simply outgunned.
Barnstable was 20-1 last year, including postseason play, and lost to Boston College High School in the playoffs.
“You’re looking at one of the strongest teams in the league,” Vineyard Youth Tennis (VYT) director Scott Smith told The Times pre-game, in sizing up Barnstable’s level of play. “It’s not going to be easy today.”
Connor Downing, a junior playing first singles for the Vineyarders, lost 1-6, 2-6. Mr. Smith told The Times that Connor has been playing at VYT since he was 8 years old, and that Zak Danz, a sophomore who played second singles for the Vineyard and lost 1-6, 3-6, has been at VYT almost as long. Connor and third singles player Max Hammond, who lost 2-6, 1-6, both work at VYT.
Rounding off play in the first doubles position, senior Dunovan Belisle and sophomore James Kelliher were defeated 1-6, 1-6. Also coming up short was the second doubles team of freshman Graham Louis and senior Charlie Parkhurst, losing 1-6, 2-6.
“It was really good,” Charlie told The Times after his match. “There were a lot of deuces. Even though it was 1-6, 2-6 it was a competitive match — it was fun.” Charlie’s partner Graham agreed: “It was a good match. I’m just not used to playing with guys like that.”
Mr. Smith summarized the outlook: “Today’s match is not going to be indicative of what the rest of the season is going to be like. The rest of the season they will do extremely well in their own division.”
On Wednesday, the boys rebounded and beat Falmouth 5-0. Connor Downing won at number one singles (6-1, 6-1). Zak Danz won at number two (6-0, 6-1). Dunovan Belisle won at number three (6-0, 6-0). Max Hammond and James Kelliher won at number one doubles (6-0, 6-0), and Graham Lewis with Ben Nadelstein won at number two doubles (6-3, 4-6, 10-6).
Change of pace
Coach Meyer has summered on the Island since he was a child. He moved his family to Martha’s Vineyard for one reason. “We were looking for a change, and we’re familiar with the Vineyard,” he told The Times, “so we’ll give it a shot.”
Mr. Meyer will manage the East Chop Tennis Club this summer. He explained why he likes coaching. “I really enjoy being out there with the kids,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s a short season, but I feel like I can impact their game, and we’ll get stronger as we go.”
Mr. Meyer played tennis at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, and also played in high school at Framingham South. “I’ve been involved with tennis basically my whole life,” Mr. Meyer said.
One game
Ned Fennessy coached the Vineyard boys for 23 years. Josh Schaan, who coached for one year and then went back to school, followed.
“Coming out of the gate and playing Barnstable is a tough thing to do,” MVRHS Athletic Director Mark McCarthy told The Times. They have kids who are top-ranked in New England, and we have a fairly young team.”
Mr. McCarthy thought that despite the loss, it would be a learning experience for the boys, and help give them a baseline of where they are. Mr. McCarthy explained that the team is basically intact from last year, but that they did lose the No. 1 player, Patrick McCarthy (no relation to Mr. McCarthy), and that they gained freshman Graham Louis. With Patrick’s departure, all the other players moved up a notch.
“I feel fortunate that Eric came in,” Mr. McCarthy said. “He has a lot of experience coaching high school. We’ll definitely be competitive in the league. Last year we shared the Eastern Athletic Conference (EAC) league championship with Bishop Feehan.”
Last season the Vineyarder boys went 15-1 in the regular season, and lost in the state semifinals to Cohasset High School.
Boys varsity tennis have their first five matches at home. They hosted Falmouth High School Wednesday. Pope John Paul II High School comes here Saturday, April 4, at 11 am, Bishop Feehan High School Wednesday, April 8, at 3 pm, and Somerset Berkley Regional High School Friday, April 10, at 3 pm. Bishop Feehan and Somerset Berkley are league contests.