BY MATT STOUT

What was uncertainty has become excitement. What were modest expectations have grown into sizable goals. And what was a relatively inexperienced Salem boys tennis team hoping to “win some,” said No. 1 singles player Jeff Bunker, is one that is winning – a lot.

In fact, Salem leads Class L in wins.

For a team that wasn’t expected to compare to those of years past, Salem has a chance to build toward something those teams could never attain.

At 9-1 entering a match at Winnacunnet on Wednesday, May 9, the Blue Devils were in prime position to capture home-court advantage for at least the first round of the state tournament, a position that could propel them into the semifinals, where they’ve lost the past two years to Concord.

It won’t come easy, though. Starting with Pinkerton Academy on Friday, May 11, Salem faces a tough stretch to close the regular season. They’ll also play a home date with Manchester Central on May 14 and a match at Bishop Guertin of Nashua two days later.

At the moment, Pinkerton and Central are both challenging Salem for a top-four seed in the playoffs.

Guertin, which played Pinkerton tough in a 5-4 loss on April 30, is simply fighting to get in as the eighth and final seed.

Win these matches and Salem could be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed. Lose and they could be looking at a quarterfinal match-up with anyone from a solid Goffstown team to old foe Manchester West.

It’s a nerve-wracking position, especially for a team that features three first-year varsity players in its top six. But it’s also one the Blue Devils are embracing.

“They’re learning how to win,” said Salem co-coach Mike Jolicoeur, who, with coach Gary Duranko, has led the Blue Devils to four wins by 5-4 or 6-3 scores this season. “They’ve been a lot more nerve-racking this year.

“And it’s been tough because of all the craziness at Salem (which included threats of violence against teachers in a note),” he continued. “We had two or three matches where we didn’t have a full lineup. So I feel now we’re kind of starting to come together, and we’re feeling confident about our starting lineup every time we go out there.”

One of those short-handed  contests was its only loss, a 9-0 drubbing at the hands of West; both its No. 2 player, Mike Cohen, and No. 4, Joel Vastl, sat. Cohen and No. 3 player Bobby Pike also didn’t play in a 5-4 win over Manchester Memorial.

Thanks to a lineup that’s strong 1 through 6, though, Salem has both endured and thrived.

Junior Jeff Bunker has smoothly transitioned from No. 4 singles last year to No. 1 this year, while Cohen hasn’t lost in singles or at No. 1 doubles with teammate Pike, who is 7-1 in singles. Vastl, who didn’t see any varsity time last year, has gone 7-2 at No. 4, while Tim Briggs and Eric Ho, the only senior in the top six, have stepped up nicely in their first varsity seasons with 5-4 and 6-2 records at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

However, as Bunker pointed out, “there are a lot of people who lost their top kids” but are still doing well, Concord and West included. And like them, the Class L championship is the goal.

Notes

In Salem’s 7-2 win over Londonderry on Monday, May 7, Cohen, at 8-1; Pike, at 8-4; Vastl, at 8-0; Briggs, at 9-8 (7-5); and Ho, at 8-4, posted wins at singles.

Cohen and Pike, at 8-1, and Bunker and Vastl, at 9-7, notched doubles wins.