The completion of Friday’s tennis matches meant the end of the regular season for both Concord High tennis teams.
While only one team won on paper, both programs – under the leadership of new coaches – have had victories of different sorts.
The Tide boys defeated Londonderry, 6-3, at Memorial Field to secure a Division I postseason tournament spot, while the girls’ season came to an end with a 6-3 loss on the road at Londonderry.
The boys closed out the regular season with Friday’s senior match, although two of the senior captains – No. 1 Dan Pedersen and No. 3 Finn Conery – were out since the match had been rescheduled due to rain earlier in the week.
With most of the Tide’s lineup playing up two spots higher than usual, senior Tyler Coskren won, 8-1, at No. 2 singles, sophomore Carter Pratt won, 8-1, at No. 3, junior exchange student Peer Bergmann won, 8-6, at No. 5 and freshman Carl Sirrianna won, 8-2, at No. 6 to give Concord a 4-2 lead through singles.
Usually in the No. 2 slot, junior Finn Brown lost, 8-0, to the Lancers’ incredibly strong No. 1 Cam Poitras, and Tide senior Sam Coffin, typically the No. 6, lost at No. 4, 8-2.
Coskren and Coffin teamed up to win, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles, and Bergmann and Sirrianna also won, 8-3, at No. 3 to close out the victory.
With a 6-8 record, the squad has already matched last year’s win total, when Concord went 6-9 and advanced to the quarterfinals in former head coach Dave Page’s final season.
Page coached at Concord and Bow High schools for over 30 years, 17 of them at CHS before retiring at the end of last season.
That left big shoes for rookie coach Kevin Parsons to fill. A teacher and coach at the elementary school and middle school level in the Concord district, Parsons was familiar with the community and with the sport but not with the program before coming aboard. Still, the transition has been a good one.
“It’s been pretty good,” Coskren said. “(Coach Page) helped us get better every day; (coach Parsons) does the same stuff. He always works with us when we’re having trouble with our serves or backhands and how to improve our form.”
Parsons credited the veteran-laden roster and upperclassmen leaders with aiding in the successful transition.
“As a new coach, it’s been a lot of learning experiences, but the players have helped with that,” Parsons said. “The (upperclassmen) have been bringing the team together with some of the same stuff as last year and some new stuff that fits us (now). We had a couple surprise wins.
“Our seniors have led this team. The change in their play in how to adapt to the different people in this division to find a win has been awesome, even against opponents who are – on paper – stronger than us.”
Surprise wins included victories over Pinkerton (4-10) and Manchester Memorial (6-7), but the Tide is eager for more.
“We haven’t won as many matches as we’ve wanted to, but we’re happy with how it’s turned out and that we’re going to the playoffs,” Coskren said. “This year we really want to make it back to (the quarterfinals) and maybe go even further. Maybe to a championship match.”
Likely the No. 11 seed, Concord will travel for Tuesday’s preliminary match at an opponent to be determined. Not all Division I scores had been reported as of press time on Saturday. The NHIAA will release all six tennis tournament brackets (boys’ and girls’ for three divisions) on Monday.
Parsons’ coaching counterpart on the girls’ side, Greg Malette, had the advantage of serving as an assistant coach last year and having his daughter, Nell, on the team, so he was familiar with the Crimson Tide. But with only one returning player with varsity experience and an almost entirely new lineup, the rebuilding year was expected.
At Londonderry on Friday, senior Nell Malette won the No. 1 singles match and teamed up with junior Grace Ferguson for a win at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Maddy Mikkelsen stepped up for a win at No. 5 singles in Friday’s loss, which ended Concord’s season with a 3-11 record.
Malette and classmate Peyton Trento are the only top six players graduating this year, however. Ferguson – this year’s No. 2 player and next year’s captain – as well as Alex Grappone, Lucy Sawyer and Seven Doperalski will be returning to the top six as seniors next year.
Aidah Smalley, part of “a whole flock of talented sophomores,” according to coach Malette, will be back next year as well and are eager to help the program grow.
“These kids are learning quite a bit about other responsibilities (regarding tennis),” he said. “The win this year was the realization that we’ve got to be playing year-round, and we’ve made arrangements for that to happen. The kids won’t be putting the rackets in the closet all summer.”
Some of the Tide players will be training with Alan Chandronnait, a name well-respected and well-known in tennis circles in the Granite State, while others will be doing some recruiting at the middle school and youth levels to help develop a feeder program.
“It’s exciting. I’m not forcing them to do this; they’re eager and motivated,” the Concord coach said. “There’s a huge difference between varsity tennis and learn-to-play tennis. These girls really grew as a team. These kids could point out each other’s mistakes and praise each other’s accomplishments.
“It was a very rewarding experience and I’m excited to make it happen again next year.”