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07/08/2016 12:00 AMThe 2016 spring season was a prosperous one for Head Coach Gerry Carlone and the Old Saybrook boys’ tennis team. The Rams finished the regular season with a record of 19-1 and tied with Old Lyme for the Shoreline Conference title for the second year in a row. Old Saybrook took that momentum into the Class S State Championship, where Carlone’s club finished in second place.
“We went into the season with lofty expectations, which we outlined in the preseason. They were to go undefeated and win the state tournament. These were high goals, but something everyone thought we could achieve,” Coach Carlone said. “We had an early loss to Old Lyme and that made the players get refocused. They knew they had to work harder and prepare better. Heading into states, each individual player knew what he had to do. We came up just short [of winning states], which was disappointing because we didn’t reach our goal, but we had a very good season.”
After starting the year 2-0, Old Saybrook took its lone loss by a 4-3 final versus Old Lyme at home on April 13. The defeat refocused the Rams, who went on to win 17-straight matches, including a 4-3 victory in a rematch at Old Lyme on May 9, on their way to sharing the conference crown with the Wildcats.
“We knew we were behind the 8-ball after that loss and needed to get a win when we faced them again,” Carlone said. “The guys rose to the occasion after that first setback. They put in more work and in the second match all the hard work came to fruition.”
The Rams were led by No. 1 singles player Saba Cecunjanin, who went 16-0 in the regular season and 21-2 overall in his junior year. Cecunjanin was named First Team All-Shoreline Conference after making it to the final of the Shoreline Conference Tournament, after which he reached the quarterfinal round in states. Senior captain Danny Capuano was the team’s No. 2 singles player and earned Second Team All-Shoreline honors with a record of 18-1. No. 3 player Scott Cabral, also a senior captain, finished the spring at 15-1 and made First Team All-Shoreline by winning the conference’s No. 3-4-5 singles tournament. At No. 4 was senior Peter Blank, who went 16-2 to garner Second Team All-Shoreline accolades. The No. 5 spot was split between juniors Aiden Reid (10-0) and Josh Chang (7-3).
In doubles, senior Tenzing Kunchok and freshman Jason Rothman filled the No. 1 position and posted a record of 12-4 to collect a Second Team All-Shoreline nod. Old Saybrook’s No. 2 tandem of junior Bailey Noack and freshman Enes Cecunjanin finished at 13-1. The Rams’ Coaches Award was won by senior Kyle Jackson, who went 7-0 the between No. 1 and 2 doubles positions.
“There was a lot varsity experience back and they all played at a high level. They had really good chemistry throughout the year and pulled for each other. They also made a lot of sacrifices,” Carlone said. “I sat guys to get others playing time with no complaints at all. Everyone was willing to do what was needed, which is remarkable for a sport that is both a team sport and an individual sport. Everyone improved all season and the young guys were able to get valuable varsity experience.”
Old Saybrook is losing a great deal of skill and experience from this year’s squad. Capuano, Cabral, Blank, Kunchok, and Jackson have all graduated and Coach Carlone will miss the work ethic and attitude that they brought to the court.
“Danny is a great leader, smart, and will be tough to lose. He was such a steady force for us the past few years and really locked down the No. 3 spot. He also is very mentally tough. Scott was also a great leader, a real competitor who hates to lose which, really raised the level of play in practice. He’s not the best-looking player, but always got the job done,” said Carlone. “Blank grew so much this year and really became a leader and was so unselfish. He will be hard to replace. And Tenzing had a nice season and really mentored Jason [Rothman], who’s a freshman. He took him under his wing as showed him how to move on from losses or a bad shot and was a relaxing influence for the team. And Kyle [Jackson] was just a real glue guy. This was his first year playing tennis and he did a great job filling in and was always happy. You can’t be in a bad mood around Kyle.”
Even with all those losses, Old Saybrook is in great shape to field another solid squad next spring. With Saba Cecunjanin returning to the No. 1 singles spot, plus players like Reid, Chang, Noack looking to step up and help replace the departing seniors, the Rams are aiming to once again be one of the dominant squads in the Shoreline Conference.
“The future is bright,” Carlone said. “Saba’s back. A lot of guys who played will be moving to higher spots and I expect them to perform. We have some freshman coming up that can play varsity and, hopefully, we won’t miss a beat. The competition is going to be tough. Westbrook is returning its whole team, but the guys are confident we will be right back with another successful season next year.”
From The Sidelines
Old Saybrook’s wins this season came against Coginchaug (6-1), East Hampton (6-1), Morgan (7-0), Westbrook (6-1), Cromwell (6-1), North Branford (7-0), Haddam-Killingworth (7-0), Portland (7-0), Portland (7-0), Valley Regional (5-2), Old Lyme (4-3), Haddam-Killingworth (4-3), Valley Regional (7-0), Morgan (7-0), Westbrook (7-0), East Hampton (7-0), Cromwell (7-0), North Branford (7-0), and Coginchaug (6-1).
The Rams only loss came against Old Lyme (4-3).