By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — Two members of the Lynnfield High boys’ tennis team were named to the Cape Ann League Kinney Division All-Star team this spring selected by the league’s coaches.
The two Pioneers to make the roster were Shea McCarthy and Raffi Arkun.
For McCathy, a senior captain, it was a very memorable year as he was also named the Kinney Division Player of the Year.
The first-singles player, who was a two-year captain, went 20-3 overall and finished his stellar career with 70 wins.
“He had another great season,” stated Pioneers head coach Joe Dunn. “He is also a three sport athlete that does cross county in the fall and indoor track in the winter.”
McCarthy will be attending Methodist College in North Carolina this fall.
“He is going to try out for that team,” said Dunn. “They have a good Division 3 team.”
Arkun, meanwhile, made his first-ever All-Star team as the senior played at first doubles this spring. With different partners, he went 20-3 overall.
“He is also a captain and he always provided a great spark no matter who his partner was,” pointed out Dunn. “He had a very positive attitude and did a great job of keeping his partners engaged.”
It was another outstanding year for the Pioneers as they made the MIAA Div. 4 state title for the third consecutive season.
However, just like last year, the team fell, 3-2, to Manchester-Essex on June 15 in the championship match.
Overall, the Pioneers were 17-4. In the CAL, they were 10-3 as they finished in second place in the CAL Kinney behind Newburyport.
Lynnfield, who lost twice to Newburyport and Manchester-Essex, was the six-time CAL Kinney champs heading into this year.
At the awards banquet, Dunn gave out six awards. This event took place at Lynnfield High a few weeks ago.
McCarthy received the MVP Award. He also was named the LAA Athlete of the Year.
The Coaches Award was given to senior Matt Reinold who played third singles and doubles this season. He was also a co-captain.
The Leadership and Sportsmanship Awards went to seniors Emile Coumans and Ashkrit Mahajan. They played at doubles.
The LAA Scholar Athlete Awards went to 12th-graders Shlok Kudrimoti and Arkun. Kudrimoti played at second singles.
These six players were the six seniors on the roster this spring.
“We lost a lot of players from last year,” pointed out Dunn, who just finished his 9th year at the helm. “The seniors were able to step up and help us reach the state final again this year. The guys exceeded my expectations this year. We were also given the Sportsmanship Award by the league and I was very proud of that.”
The Pioneers are expecting eight veterans to return next season.