Connect with us

Tennis

Building a champion: Success stacked on success for the Hingham boys tennis program

Published

5 months ago

on

Building a champion: Success stacked on success for the Hingham boys tennis program

Talent, depth helped the Harbormen get all the way to Div. 2’s Final Four

Jay N. Miller
 |  Special to the Journal

For several years the Hingham High boys tennis team had superb regular seasons, and laudable tourney runs that ended in the Elite Eight of their division. No surprise, a major goal for 2024 was advancing beyond the last eight teams in Division 2, and the Harbormen achieved that and then some.

More: Net success: Hingham High girls tennis poised for a great run

Hingham got all the way to the D2 state semifinals, where unfortunately their old pals from Duxbury were waiting, and defeated them for the third time in 2024. Hingham finished 18-4 overall, and with just seven seniors (two starters) graduating, and 11 athletes returning, their prospects for next spring look extremely good.

“I’d absolutely say we had a great season,” said Hingham High coach Eric Gill. “18-4 is a good record, and we made it past the Elite Eight, which is where we had been stuck for a number of years. That was a goal for our team going into the season, and we made it to the Final Four. Duxbury is a good team, very well coached, and we knew what we were up against, and on that day they were simply the better team.  We knew even before the season that Duxbury would be good. They’re always a strong tennis program, but this year they were particularly strong.”

The high point of Hingham’s season was when the 10th-seeded Harbormen ousted number two seed, the unbeaten Sharon High squad (21-0).

“It felt really good, as a 10th seed to take out the number two,” said Gill of that 3-2 verdict. “The Patriot League, aside from Duxbury, did not help us much in the power rankings. For our non-league matches we played Cohasset twice, and they are strong, but not yet at the level we’d see in the Round of Eight, or like Sharon High. They’re getting better quickly, but they’re not at that level yet, and outside of Duxbury it was hard for us to see the kind of competition we see in the postseason.”

As for the seniors who’ll be leaving, Travis Rugg anchored the top doubles team, while Liam Arnold played on the second doubles team. Logan Price was another senior who saw action in a variety of roles. But top singles players Parker Schultz (#1) and Ethan Warhaftig (#2) are both sophomores this year, while the third singles slot was captured by freshman Eric Li.

“Our top players didn’t play as much as some other teams’ might have,” Gill noted, “because we had 18 players on the team and tried to get everyone into the action. But Parker’s our number one, and took on all the others all the time to hold onto his position, and had a very good season. We had not expected Ethan to be our number two singles guy coming into this year, but he worked hard in the off-season, and turned himself into a much better player. Eric is an interesting story, since he and his family only moved here in the eighth grade. He ended up playing a huge role on the team by the end of the season, from our number three singles, to actually being moved around to the top doubles team.

“With those three returning, we could certainly be aiming for another Final Four season next spring.”

There are some other returning varsity vets, who all saw some action this year as Gill sought to get everyone involved. There were also 13 more players on the JV team, which also had a successful season, and no doubt some of them will make serious bids to crack the varsity lineup in 2025 too.

“Our three captains next spring will be seniors Ted Reilly, Evan Lynch and Ryan Chang,” Gill explained. “Ted played a big role for us at third singles, Evan saw a lot of action at second doubles, and Ryan was a versatile player we used in several places. Those three all have significant experience and will definitely help us. I know our JV team had a very good season too, but that is kind of a separate thing, so I’m not very familiar with those kids, but I’m sure they’ll have some strong candidates trying to make the jump to varsity.”

“We have a lot of returning guys,” Gill added. “With a roster of 18, we made sure every kid played at least half a dozen matches. It will be a lot of fun to see what all these guys can do next year. We proved we can get past the Elite Eight, all the way to the Finals. Now we can start looking to the next step, which is going all the way. Duxbury loses some great players, but they will still be very strong next spring too, so that rivalry will be just as intense, and we have our work cut out for us.”

In keeping with most of the Hingham High teams, tennis gets some crossovers, athletes from other sports who can also excel on the court.

“We’ve picked up a lot of hockey players over the past few years,” said Gill. “Travis Rugg for example is a very good athlete and a great hockey player. There is a lot of carryover from hockey to tennis; both sports emphasize footwork, and both require keeping your eye on the ball, and soft hands at some times, strong hands at others. Hockey players make good tennis players, in my view.”

And Hingham also gets some  one-sport tennis devotees, and also a lot of kids who polish their games all year round.

“A lot of our kids play at the Kingsbury Club year-round,” said Gill. “There are also a ton of Duxbury High kids that play there, so believe me, I get the lowdown on the Duxbury kids before we even start the season. But it is true that many of our kids play all during the off-season, and they make huge improvements that way. Some guys just pick up a racket in March and decide they’re going to try tennis–but then they come to practice and see the talent of players we get, and realize it’s a wholly different thing. But everyone’s welcome to try out. And with all the returning players we have next spring, it seems to bode well for us having a fine team next year as well.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading