Boys Tennis Championship Season Ends

The Marblehead Boys Tennis team had a season to remember.

They finished a perfect 16-0 in the New England Conference, capturing the Conference Title and securing a first-round bye as the number one seed in the MIAA Division 2 North tournament.

They played to an amazing 18-2 overall record, only losing to a very tough St. John's Prep team in an out of conference match during the regular season and a very close 2-3 match against eighth seed Boston Latin Monday afternoon in the tournament Quarter Finals.

"This is an awesome accomplishment that the whole program should be proud of," said coach Elisabeth Foukal, who is in her third year with Marblehead. "It starts with a lot of support from [Athletic Director] Mr. Plansky and [Athletics/PE Clerk] Mrs. Magee, and is possible because of a strong JV program, thanks to Coach Sharen Solomon. It maintains momentum with excellent support from the parents and ends with a Varsity squad that commits to the game, not just participates in it."

Leading the Magicians on the court this year was senior Co-Captain Justin Hyte, who was honored as the Northeastern Conference MVP. Hyte finished his final season with Marblehead undefeated -- earning victories all 19 times he took the court, including a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory against Boston Latin lefty-senior Patrick Gibbons.

"I thought the season went great," said Hyte, who will be attending the University of Delaware in the fall, where he will study international business and try out for the Blue Hens Tennis team. "Everyone played really well."

Also having amazing seasons for the Magicians were junior Tyler Gelineau, whose record at second singles was 14-5, and freshman Ian Hyte, 15-3, who played wonderfully at third singles. The first and second doubles pairs of sophomores Ryan Dempsey and Dylan White and seniors Jonah Katz and Co-Captain Seamus McGuire finished their seasons at 14-2 and 15-3 respectively.

All seven of Marblehead's boys were selected as NEC Small School First Team All-Stars.

The first doubles pair of Dempsey/White earned the Magicians' other win against Boston Latin, recovering from a first game 4-6 loss and winning the next two games 6-3 and 6-1.

"I'm really pleased with how they played today," said Foukal after Monday's Boston Latin loss, "because all of these matches were close, even though we didn't win. I'm just proud of the boys and how they played."

The Magicians look like they will be right back in the running for another NEC title next season, as they will have five of their seven all-stars back on the courts. They will be joined by talented players from Solomon's JV-team as well as some strong middle school talent that will be entering the high school next year.

Boston Latin advances to play Winchester, who has yet to lose a single match in the tournament, on Wednesday in the semi-final round.

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