The Kearsarge boys’ team has dominated Division III with five championship appearances in five seasons. The only caveat is that they won in odd years, 2021, 2023 and 2025. New head coach Shawn Meuse wants to break that pattern and two-peat in 2026.
Last year’s team was something special. After earning the second seed with a 13-6 record, the team comfortably won all of its playoff match-ups to win the state championship.
“The goal is to repeat as state champions,” Meuse said. “And the goal, of course, would be to see if we could have some individual state champions. But again, I’m more focused on, what do we do point-to-point, between the points.”
The most pressing issue for Meuse is the departure of the team’s top two players, Liam Miller and Graham West.
Liam Miller reached the individual state semifinals after winning the team championship, and as a doubles pair, Miller and West made it to the second round in the tournament last season.
“Pretty much every team graduates people; sometimes that’s really impactful on the strength of the team,” he said, tempering the pressure on his team. “One thing I’m excited about is we have a lot of boys in the team that are not seniors, too.”
Meuse brings a wealth of experience with him. He’s a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Elite Professional, Professional Tennis Registry Professional, United States Tennis Association (USTA) Net Generation Certified, and a 5.0+ NTRP player.
He’s taking over for Lynn Miller, a legendary tennis coach inducted into the USTA New England Hall of Fame, Wheaton College and the Plymouth State University Hall of Fame.
Miller was the assistant at Colby-Sawyer while coaching the Kearsarge boys and her methods were clearly successful. She led the boys to those five consecutive state championships but decided it was time to step down after a very long coaching career.
“I want to do the team proud, the program proud. And of course, in memory of Lynn’s contribution, I want to thank her for everything she did,” Meuse said.
Meuse, though, has plenty of experience coaching boys’ tennis. His sons, Ashton and Peyton, reached a state championship with Alvirne and are a one-three punch (Peyton is playing at the three spot to start this season) at the top of the Colby-Sawyer Chargers team.
All of that’s to say Meuse knows what he’s doing. The team is still evolving as the squad plays internally to solidify a top six to nine ranking.
The Cougars are returning four starters from last year: seniors William Reid and Jakeb Lizotte, junior Rylan Fitzgerald and freshman Max Reid. Also returning to the squad are juniors Colby Beck, Clifton Cleaveland and sophomore Wade Johnson, accompanied by newcomers sophomore Zachary Hatton and freshman Crosby Cooper.
Meuse’s goal on the court, he said, is to set a solid foundation and culture that translates into tireless effort and a year-round mindset of improvement. Tennis is as physical as it is mental.
“We can’t control the result. What we can control is how we manage ourselves, individually and as a team at every meet,” Meuse said.
The Kearsarge Cougars will kick off their season at home against Prospect Mountain on April 6 at 4 p.m.
Boys
CONCORD
Division: I
Coach: Kevin Parsons (fifth year)
Last year: 3-11
Returning starters: Martin Pennington, sr.; Keegen Wade, so.; Jonathan Kleiner sr.
Top newcomers: Sam Lewis, fr.; Eli Paddleford, fr.
Outlook: “We are very excited for this upcoming season. A lot of solid returning players and a great group of newcomers. Competition on the team is at an all-time high which will result in great practices and individual improvement.” – Kevin Parsons.
BOW
Division: II
Coach: Jay Yvars (fifth year)
Last year: 9-7, reached quarterfinals.
Returning starters: Milo Cocola, jr.; Jacob Garcanz, jr.; Carter Hall, jr.; Jack French, jr.; Matthew Mampuzha, jr.
Top newcomers: Merrick Blaney, fr.; Landon Coache, fr.; Ethan Hall, fr.; Sawyer Whiting, fr.
Outlook: “We are young but return many starters from last season. Moreover, we are bringing on good freshman which will make our team deeper and stronger than the past few years.” – Jay Yvars.
COE-BROWN
Division: II
Coach: Mark Struthers (fifth year)
Last year: 2-12
Returning starters: Caden Melanson, so.; Nathan Plowman, so.
Top newcomers: Frank Marhefka, fr.; Andrew Moreschi, fr.
Outlook: “Young team where players will gain valuable experience during matches.” – Mark Struthers.
BISHOP BRADY
Division: III
Coach: Marianne Thebodeau (third year)
Last year: 9-8, runner-up to Kearsarge in team championship.
Returning starters: Teddy Yap, jr.; Alex Pelletier, sr.; Ethan Henry, sr.; James Horangic, sr.; Matthew Bissah, sr.
Top newcomers: Ryan Casey, sr.
Outlook: “The boys have many returning and we are looking forward to a strong season. We will continue to work on developing skills and being consistent within match play. Communication within doubles and working together has been a strength of ours in the past. Our focus will be one match at a time and working on ways to improve and move forward each day.” – Marianne Thebodeau.
Girls
CONCORD
Division: I
Coach: Greg Malette (fifth year)
Last year: 1-13
Returning starters: Elizabeth LaBombard, sr.; Ava Todd, sr.; Bryn Washburn, so.
Top newcomers: Ariana Mitchell, fr.; Julia Barnes, fr.
Outlook: “This will be another challenging season as we continue to work with CHS athletics and NHIAA to reposition ourselves into Division II.” – Greg Malette.
BOW
Division: II
Coach: Steve Langevin (fifth year)
Last year: 8-8, reached quarterfinals.
Returning starters: Grace DeCosta, so.; Sierra Scull, jr.; Alexis Pelletier, so.; Addie Rader, so.
Top newcomers: Niaa Patel, fr.
Outlook: “We graduated our top four from last season, so everyone is moving up 4-6 spots from a year ago. We have good numbers with 16 in the program but are very young with a single junior, 11 sophomores and four freshmen. Despite our youth we are excited about the upcoming season with our top four all very competitive with each other. DeCosta and Pelletier were in the top six a year ago, while Scull and Rader saw some varsity action last year. Roberge, Price and Ayers have made progress and are battling for the last two spots in our starting lineup. Several others are close behind and it will be exciting to see which girls take big leaps during the season.” – Steve Langevin.
COE-BROWN
Division: II
Coach: Chris Burns (sixth year)
Last year: 6-9, reached prelims.
Returning starters: Cali Herrick, so.; Kelli Daniel, sr.; Scarlett Martyniak, jr.; Mackenzie Phillips, jr.; Claire Tweed, jr.; Mary Bergeron, sr.; Jordan McInturf, jr.
Top newcomers: Jessica Daniel, fr.
Outlook: “We’re looking to take a step forward this season and compete at a higher level after finishing 6–9 last year. This is an experienced group led by a strong junior class, and we’ve had over 20 players come out, which speaks to the growth of the program. With increased depth and internal competition, we’re excited about the direction we’re heading and the potential this team has.” – Chris Burns.
PEMBROKE
Division: II
Coach: David Goulet (11th year)
Last year: 5-10, reached prelims.
Returning starters: Riley Caron, jr.; Brianna Larochelle, sr.; Emma Settles, sr.
Top newcomers: Haidyn Chaffee, so.
Outlook: “We made the playoffs last year and hope to repeat it again this year. The girls have been practicing hard at improving their tennis game. We hope to have a good start at of the season.” – David Goulet.
BISHOP BRADY
Division: III
Coach: Marianne Thebodeau (third year)
Last year: 2-11.
Returning starters: Logan Filteau, sr.; Tess Lavoie, sr.; Giulia Conserva, sr.; Emma Burnett, sr.; Kenzie Packer, so.; Juliette McLaughlin, so.; Daisy Curtin, so.
Top newcomers: Emily Gaby, so.
Outlook: “Emily Gaby is new to the team this season. With the other 7 returning with varsity experience from last year we will have some experience and have played with each other in the past. Our focus will be on building on our successes last season as well development and growth with skills.” – Marianne Thebodeau.
KEARSARGE
Division: III
Coach: Bubba Williams (third year)
Last year: 11-5, reached semifinals.
Returning starters: Tucker Dragon, so.; Shilor Poliquin, jr.; Addy Blair, jr.; Felicity Kane, sr.; Sydney Cunnolly, jr.
Outlook: “The top seven girls all have varsity experience and with a top four finish last year they’re looking to move up a notch or two this season.” – Bubba Williams.