Old Rochester mens tennis is young but undefeated

MATTAPOISETT — With an undefeated season of 11-0 so far, the Old Rochester Regional High School men's tennis team is looking for more wins. 

Having lost in the second round of playoffs last year, Head Coach Baylen Harper hopes the team can go further. 

Coaching for his second year, Harper noted how passionate the team is this year. He said the team is competitive and wants to win, setting the tone for the season. 

“Everyone's into the matches, everyone's clapping after every point. Nobody here is ever acting like it's a hassle, everyone wants to be here,” Harper said. 

Composed of 15 players, the team is young with one senior and mainly sophomore and juniors in the starting lineup. 

Harper said he hopes the team will grow closer over time leading to better tennis. 

“This year, just team camaraderie first and foremost and then from there, the growth will come,” Harper said. 

Senior captain Austin Scully of Mattapoisett has been on the team for four years and is excited since the team has the most energy out of any of the previous years. 

Scully said everyone is getting along and supports each other through the matches, not needing much leadership or direction from him. 

“They don't need me to boss them around or whatever, but it's more just having fun and playing good tennis, which we're certainly doing,” Scully said. 

Scully looks to create an environment for players to get better and have fun. 

“I don't think it needs to be some big, serious thing all the time,” Scully said. “We’re playing, we're having fun and we're winning.”

Caden Gonsalves of Wareham is a sophomore hoping to stay undefeated. He said his personal goal is to learn more about tennis and improve his shots. 

Gonsalves said the team could work on keeping their pressure and energy up when fighting in tough matches. 

“We really need to just get better at continuing to keep putting pressure and never getting down whenever we're losing sets,” Gonsalves said. 

Andrew Heberc of Mattapoisett is a freshman and excited to be on the team, especially since they are doing so well. 

“Being undefeated is really amazing,” Heberc said. “It's my first year as a freshman and I think we're just going to do well for the next couple of years and I'm really excited for that.”

Subhav Parajuli of Marion is a junior always leading cheers and getting the team pumped before the game. 

“We're out there, we're always the loudest team,” Parajuli said. “We don't let anyone beat us in that sense, especially when it's clutch moments.”

His favorite part about being on the team is winning matches, being surrounded by his teammates at the end of games and cheering on teammates matches. 

“I just love the excitement and cheering that our team has,” Parajuli said. “That's what makes it so good.”