Warrior Boys Racketeers Goal Is To Return To Tournament

For the first time in seven years, the King Philip boys tennis team did not get invited to participate in the state tournament.

After posting an 8-11 regular season record, the Warriors' streak came to a halt, thus ending the KP tennis careers of seniors Tom Eaton and Tom Yang.

“It all came down to our non-league schedule,” Coach Julie Puddester said. "It was extremely difficult and did us in this year, but that’s OK, as you need to play stronger teams in order to get better.”

Outside of the Hockomock League, KP lost to the likes of Medfield and Bridgewater-Raynham, two teams that lost in the semi-finals of their respective divisions to the eventual champions. Medfield lost to Sharon, who grabbed the Division 2 South Title, while B-R fell to Needham, the winner of Division 1 South and eventually the Division 1 State Champion.

In addition to the tougher schedule, Puddester believes there was a turnaround within the Hockomock League itself this season. According to the coach, the league had an overall strong season, especially with the addition of Attleboro.

Although the goal was to keep the tournament string alive and capture the league title, Puddester knew that it was not going to be an easy task.

“It was a rebuilding season. We had lost five of our seven starters from last year’s 15-5 season,” the coach said. “Mike (McCarthey) and Tom (Eaton) were the only returners, everyone else was new.”

With McCarthey and Eaton holding down the first and second singles positions, respectively, Puddester was forced to use a variety of athletes in the three other spots. Throughout the season, the KP coach used a total of nine different roster players in the final singles position and two doubles teams. Not only was she looking for the right mix, but also to give the team as much experience as she possibly could.

As was expected, McCarthey and Eaton were the only two racketeers to post winning records. McCarthey went 11-7 overall with a 10-4 record in the Hock, while Eaton finished at 8-7 (7-4 in the league). While Eaton will be taking his talents off to college, McCarthey will return for one more season on the courts for KP.

“Mike knows what the competition is like. Since the season ended, he’s already taken part in two USTA Tournaments,” Puddester said. “The rest of the team got to see what it’s like to compete against top teams, and should build upon that experience for next year.”

While some may see the season as a disappointment, as the team did not make the tournament, Puddester strongly believes the Warriors will be back next spring. The team still has McCarthey in the top spot, and it has gotten some valuable experience this season, especially first-time tennis player Ian Pimental. 

On the soccer field, Pimental was considered a star, but on the tennis courts things were a different story. Having left baseball to take a shot at tennis, Pimental picked up his first racket in March and began playing alongside Jon Marinelli at second doubles. When the season wrapped up, the tandem had moved into the number one doubles position.

“You usually see improvement in players through their high school careers, but Ian showed tremendous improvement throughout his first season on the tennis courts,” the coach said. “Having never played the game, he didn’t even know if he was going to make the team. He was a pleasant surprise and has so much going for him, not to mention the chemistry that he has with Jon”

Depending on how hard he works in the offseason, Pimental could possibly catapult into playing one of the vacated singles positions.

Other retuning athletes for the team will be Christian Gonser (who along with McCarthey and Marinelli will be tri-captain next season), Cameron Lyons, Paul Brescia and Chad O’Neil, all of whom bring stability to the squad. Freshman Kevin Williams also returns next season a year older.

“I was forced to throw Kevin into a second doubles match during AP exams,” Puddester. “And he performed very well, giving us more hope for the future.”