Karl Tenenholtz won’t soon forget his first season as coach of the Marblehead High boys tennis team. His Magicians enjoyed arguably the program’s best regular season ever with a 17-2 record, which propelled them to a fifth seed in the Division 2 state tournament. They then went on to win three more matches in the playoffs against North Attleborough (3-2), Grafton (4-1) and Walpole (3-2), before top seed Westborough spoiled the fun ride one stop short of the state title match in the state semifinals, 5-0 on June 9. The Rangers went on to win the state divisional championship after beating Duxbury, the third seed, 4-1 at MIT on June 13.
“I think my first season as coach of the Marblehead High boys varsity tennis team went well,” said Tenenholtz. “The team exceeded expectations, and was able to make the Final four for the first time in the history of the program. Each and every player on the team went all-out going 100 percent during practices, as well as in the matches. They were simply motivated to be the best (tennis) team that Marblehead has ever had.”
Tenenholtz went on to say that he’ll never forget this year, because he knows that it only happened, because of the team’s commitment. “Our historic season does not happen if the players did not put in the work during the offseason,” he added. “They realized the importance of playing tennis in the offseason, and as a result they spent a lot of time practicing and improving their game (when nobody was around). They learned that the work you put in during the offseason directly reflects how you perform during the season.”
But despite the aforementioned state semifinal loss to Westborough, the Marblehead boys are still among the Top 4 Division 2 teams in the state this year, which had a total of 35 schools that qualified for the postseason statewide.
In that state semifinal encounter, Ty Cooper lost a competitive first singles match to Westborough’s Vikram Hiranandani, 5-7, 4-6. T.J. Kelly dropped a 2-6, 2-6 decision to Zachary Forjette in second singles. Caleb Sidman fell to Darsh Nayak in third singles, 1-6, 0-6.
The first doubles team of Adam Loughlin and Alex Boehning lost in straight sets to Jordan Hlawek and Subash Pallothu, 2-6, 0-6. Cordt Menzler and Filip Wabno, playing second doubles, were defeated by Matias Rosenzuaig and Arnav Chinthapathla, 4-6, 1-6.
Finn Bowen, Jeff Kucharsky, Kelly, Loughlin and Menzler were the team’s seniors. Kelly and Loughlin were the captains, and they led the right way with their actions on the court. Their efforts earned them spots on the NEC All-Conference team, along with Menzler, their classmate.
“T.J. and Adam were unbelievable leaders, and everyone on the team looked up to them for advice,” said Tenenholtz. “They have made a positive impact on this program, and will be missed. It will be tough to replace them next season.”
Tenenholtz also had a lot of praise for Menzler, who, he said, “had an amazing season, including a big win against Masco to help us win the NEC.”
The coach also singled out Bowen and Kucharsky. “Finn and Jeff were both first-year varsity players, but everyone on the team still looked up to them, even though they were not starters,” he said. “They were very important in helping with the team’s camaraderie this season. All of these seniors will truly be missed, but in the end they can all say they were a part of this historic season.”
