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06/09/2017 12:00 AMAlthough the recent season didn’t yield any titles or finals appearances for the Guilford boys’ tennis team, the Indians achieved more than one might think by doubling their win total from last year, while developing a young core of players who planted the seeds for future prosperity.
After going 8-9 in 2016, Head Coach Rob Messer’s squad posted an excellent record of 16-4 for the 2017 regular season to go with berths in the SCC and Class L State tournaments. After defeating Xavier 5-2 in the SCC quarterfinals, Guilford took a 7-0 loss to Hand in the semis to finish at 17-5 overall. Featuring a young bunch this year, Coach Messer said that it was all about the bigger picture with getting his up-and-comers some experience in the postseason spotlight.
“Going into the year, we wanted to make states and place in the top three and make a showing there. It was a good experience at states as far as the younger guys getting an understanding of states and how big they are,” Coach Messer said. “For SCCs, we wanted to make it to the finals, and we came up short, but we gave Hand our best shot. We took a huge step towards our ultimate goal for the next few years. We are right there with the Hands and Amity.”
Looking at his team’s nine-win turnaround, Messer said the Indians turned the tables on several teams who defeated them last year, thereby inching closer to their ultimate goal of reigning atop the SCC and state ranks.
“We took a huge leap in our record from last year and, within that, we won against three big schools this year that we didn’t last year with Cheshire, Xavier, and Notre Dame-West Haven twice. It stuck out, because it really signified our growth,” Messer said. “Getting to states was also huge for us, along with knowing we can compete with the top tier teams of the SCC. It let us know that we are in the right place and belong. It put us one step closer to winning SCCs and states one day.”
Singles player and lone senior Jeff Eng earned a record of 11-7 record for the season and earned All-SCC honors, while serving as a captain for Guilford alongside junior doubles player Sam Inchalik, who went 14-2. Coach Messer said that both players went above and beyond their call of duty to groom the underclassmen for some serious success down the road.
“Jeff had big shoes to fill at No. 1 singles in taking the spot of [former state champion Evan Powell]. He stepped up big and always gave his best effort. He did a great job leading a young team. He was on the 2014 Class M state title team, so he knows what winning is all about. He did a fantastic job showing the younger guys the ropes and would give basically private lessons to a lot of the guys in practice. He did it for the love of the game and his team,” said Messer, who was a nominee for SCC Coach of the Year. “Sam was more of a vocal presence on the team. He was good enough to be in the top portion of the singles lineup, but he was asked to play doubles, and did it without any questions. He also pushed a lot of the younger guys to get better, and took a huge step forward as a leader.”
The Indians’ singles lineup additionally featured three athletes who rotated between the No. 2, 3, and 4 spots in junior David Mason (15-4 record), as well as freshmen Alex Kagan (13-3) and Gianni Esposito (15-4). Guilford’s doubles lineup primarily consisted of juniors Michael Hooker (12-4) and Isaac Freeman (8-4), along with sophomores Andrew Inchalik (13-3), Kyle Dunlop (10-2), Noah Horton (15-3), and Erik Mastalerz.
The Indians are eying an even better 2018 campaign as they are only losing Eng to graduation, while returning several battled-tested athletes who will dedicate themselves to tennis during the offseason. In examining what his team achieved in 2017, Coach Messer said the Indians gained just as much from their defeats as they did their victories.
“We are going to have only good problems next year since we are losing only one player from varsity. We have a lot of freshmen that are coming up, so we will be young and deep again. We have guys that will be putting in the hard work in the offseason and fighting for their spots. We will have lots of talent in our doubles lineup and lots of hungry guys overall with talent,” said Messer. “We have a bright future here. We’ve shown how far we’ve come, but with our defeats this year, we now know what we need to do. The young guys found out that you have to be match tough. We are going to hold onto those lessons for as long as we can. But this year, we took a huge and necessary step in the right direction of being the best.”