BY MATT STOUT
Two months ago, the Pelham boys tennis team probably would have jumped at the opportunity to be in this position. Five days ago, they probably would have given anything to avoid it.
With back-to-back losses to start the week – the first coming in a 5-4 upset loss to Con-Val on Monday, May 14, the second in a 9-0 setback to Class I power Souhegan of Amherst a day later – the Pythons found themselves outside the state tournament picture entering a key showdown with St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday, May 16.
At 6-6 with the St. Thomas match and a rain-delayed date with Hollis-Brookline still on the schedule, Pelham hoped to keep pace with 7-5 Oyster River for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Wins were what they needed. Confidence is what they have.
“We’re definitely feeling confident,” said the No. 2 singles player, Scott Connatser, who posted an 8-0 win over Con-Val’s Andre Vargas on Monday. “We never go into a match saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose.’ We go in saying we’re going to win and do our best, win or lose. Our team can pull it together.”
Yet, whether or not the Pythons do earn a berth, the season was not for naught. With just two of its top six back from last season, Pelham welcomed four varsity newcomers – five if you count freshman Matt Mercier, who has filled in for an injured Brady Tryon throughout last week and this. The results were more than encouraging.
Josh Detellis and Connatser, the two returnees, both held strong at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, and formed a potent No. 1 doubles team. Meanwhile, freshman John Fyfe, at No. 3 singles; senior David Pereira, at No. 4; Tryon, who had sprained his ankle but played the entire season at No. 5; and Jon Wallace, who moved up from No. 6 to No. 5 in Tryon’s absence, all gave Pelham coach Lisa Terwilliger hope that even with more seniors leaving this season, Pelham should return as strong next season.
Of course, the only season on the Pythons’ minds now is this one, which appeared to end in good shape – as far as the regular season – with Hollis. Pelham owned a 4-2 advantage entering doubles play, where Detellis and Connatser had a 6-3 lead at No. 1, before rain postponed the match from May 10.
Terwilliger said the team hoped to finish the match on Friday, May 17.
“We haven’t had any practices in the past …,” Terwilliger said before adding, “I didn’t even remember the last time we had practice. So it’s pretty tough to work on anything we want to work on. So in the matches, the little coaching that I can do is pretty much all we’re depending on.”
If Pelham does make the playoffs, it will most likely qualify as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, where in all likelihood it will face either Portsmouth or Hanover in the quarterfinals.
The Pythons lost to Portsmouth 8-1 and Hanover twice by 9-0 scores during the regular season.
“They’re very consistent teams, and they’ll be powerhouses. But when we play against them, we play our best,” Connatser said, referring to the possibility of seeing either of the league’s top teams. “It might not show in the scores, but we play our best.”