Update after press time: Melrose falls to Mystic Valley 4-1 in home opener (March 28)
Looks to repeat another playoff run this year
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—After another playoff season in 2024, the Melrose High boy’s tennis team returns this spring with the kind of experience that could see them match and raise efforts in 2025 as they kick off their spring campaign this week. They open at home on Friday against Mystic Valley Charter.
Melrose returns ten players from last season, juniors and seniors who make up what is an experienced team.
“We have 8 new players, most of them are freshmen – so I’m excited to have some new blood considering we had no freshmen last season,” says Melrose head coach Sam Stallings.
Leading Melrose as captains are senior Joseph Brady, senior Gautik Singh and junior Dan Teittinen. “All three are hardworking guys that spent a lot of time playing throughout the offseason,” says the coach. “So, I’m sure they’re chomping at the bit to put that work to the test with our upcoming matches. I’m expecting all three to have a huge role in how we do overall as a team.”
Practice got underway this week and they’re working hard to prepare for their home opener this Friday at Lyons Court. “The boys had a good first week of practice and battled through a couple of cold and windy days,” says Stallings. “I think we have a group that is excited enough to be back in the spring season that they’re willing to ignore the weather and compete.”
Last year, Melrose made it to playoffs, a place they are very familiar with. In fact, there have been few seasons in the last decade that didn’t include a run in the Div. 2 field. Yet, there is much to learn from their efforts of last spring. “We learned that we needed to have more mental fortitude to win matches,” says Stallings. “We competed with just about every team on our schedule but didn’t necessarily come away with as many wins as we could have. I think that mental hurdle – the ability to win close matches – will be at the forefront for us this season, hopefully, we’re up for the task.”
Helping them with that job will be some solid returning starters, which included their captains. Daniel Teittinen is likely to continue as the team’s 1st singles player this year, notes the coach. “And Joseph Brady and Gautik Singh will definitely have big roles. I expect a few guys to compete and be in the mix at 2nd and 3rd singles. We have several guys that have worked hard during the offseason to compete for varsity spots, so we’ll see how that turns out.”
He also points out the work of Alec Truesdale who was paired with Brady and took Melrose’s double win in their playoff loss to Mansfield last season. “I expect that experience should be good for them to build off of this season,” notes the coach.
As always, the Middlesex League remains one of the toughest in the region and there will be few days off. It’s a league packed with Div. 1 powerhouses that Melrose will see right out of the gate, so it’s important to note that it’s a long season. Says the coach, “The Middlesex League will be extremely competitive this season. We’re expecting to have competitive matches with several teams this season: Burlington, Wakefield, Wilmington, Reading, Arlington, etc. Many of these teams graduated significant parts of their varsity line-ups so we’ll hope to take advantage.”
Melrose is hosting Mystic Valley Charter on Friday, March 28 at 4:15 p.m. “This is a team we’ve never played before so that adds a bit to the excitement,” says Stallings. “They have a solid group of guys so I’m expecting a very competitive match for us right out of the gate. I’m fortunate to have a core group of guys that have been in the program for several seasons, so it’s been a seamless start to the spring so far.”