Last year the Concord girls’ tennis team made a surprise run to the semifinals. With their top two players back in Becky Cistulli and Alex Killinger, a third returning starter in Sabrina Hart-Meyer and intriguing mix of players ready to fill the rest of the varsity ladder, the expectations are a little higher for the Crimson Tide in 2017.
“We didn’t think we were going to do as well as we did last year, and I think we could be pretty good this year based on who we have, a pretty good top six,” Cistulli said. “So, yeah, I think we could be better than we were last year.”
Cistulli and Killinger form an excellent 1-2 punch at the top of Concord’s ladder. The two seniors are close friends and reached the semifinals of the state doubles tournament last year.
“They will definitely be going after that doubles championship this year,” said Rebecca Killinger, Alex’s mother and Concord’s co-head coach along with P.J. Cistulli, Becky’s father.
The Killinger-Cistulli coaching combo takes over for Greg Coache, who also coaches the men’s and women’s teams at Southern New Hampshire University and decided to step down as Concord’s head coach after eight seasons leading the Tide. Killinger has been an assistant with the team during the previous six seasons and Cistulli for the last three, so the players don’t have to adjust to any new voices, although the old one will be missed.
“It’s different not having Greg Coache around,” Rebecca Killinger said. “Everybody loves him and misses him.”
Alex Killinger is still getting back to 100 percent healthy after a knee injury in the fall, and Becky Cistulli didn’t play as much tennis in the offseason as she would have liked, so it may take Concord’s top two some time to round into peak form. Still, both are excited for the season and they provide a great foundation for the Tide.
Hart-Meyer, a senior who was No. 5 last year, played on a weekly basis during the offseason and will move up to No. 3 for Concord’s first match. The season was scheduled to open on Monday at Pinkerton, but that match was postponed. The next date on the calendar is Friday at Merrimack.
Senior Lydia Yen played in one varsity match last year (which she won), and worked hard during the offseason to make sure she got more court time this season.
“Winning that match last year was a real confidence booster for her,” Coach Killinger said. “I think she’s really excited for this year, she’s excited for the challenges and hopefully for her moving up. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about how she’s really improved.”
A new addition to the team is sophomore Abby Pope, a year-round player who has USTA experience and has worked with many of the top coaches in the area, but has yet to play a high school match.
“She’s got a lot of power and a great serve, she just needs to work on some of her inconsistencies,” Killinger said, “but we all have those.”
Junior Emma Pederson returns to the team after taking last year off and she will round out the top six to start the season. Concord should win plenty of singles matches with those six on the courts, and if things come down to doubles, the Tide will be more than ready.
“We kind of rely on doubles,” Killinger said. “It’s always been a strength for us because of all the poaching and movement that (Coache) has always taught.”
Doubles will likely prove pivotal when the Tide faces some of the top teams in Division I, like Bedford (April 24 at home) or Exeter (May 12 on the road). Bedford has been to four straight finals and has won the last two, beating Concord in 2015 and downing Exeter last year after the Blue Hawks beat the Tide in the semifinals.
Manchester Central returns one of the top players in the state in Julia Chappell, the 2015 state singles champion and 2016 runner-up. The Little Green also bring back Krysten Walker, who paired with Chappell to win the doubles title last season.
This season will also feature an intra-city rivalry match when Concord plays Bishop Brady on May 5. The Green Giants have moved up to D-I this year from D-II with 2016 singles champ (and 2015 runner-up) Sydney Herrington leading the way.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)