White River Junction
The Marauder boys utilized a temporary home away from home on Friday, playing dominant tennis in a 9-0 sweep of Alvirne at Hartford High School.
Hanover’s convincing performance in its NHIAA Division I season opener came a few days after players joined with members of the girls team in an attempt to clear their home court. The shoveling crew dug trenches designed to hasten the melting process, but the weather will have the final say on when the highly shaded area will become playable. Marauders coach Jarrod Sheehan was told by a Storrs Pond official it could be another two weeks.
Sheehan’s charges have recently relied on Boss Tennis Center at Dartmouth, but it was booked Friday for Hanover’s junior varsity tryouts. Hartford, which isn’t sponsoring high school tennis this year due to low numbers, has allowed Hanover use of its court for a few practices and Friday’s match thus far.
The hosts were unstoppable in their season debut as the rebuilding Broncos, hailing from near the Massachusetts state line, fell to 0-4.
Hanover won 56 games and lost only seven during Friday’s contest.
Noah Borell led the charge with an 8-0 shutout of Jared Whalen at No. 1 singles. The junior, a foreign exchange student from Germany, arrived in the United States in early March and will stay until late August.
Borell said he’s unaccustomed to playing for a high school team and is glad to be doing so. In Germany, “you have to look for teams in your town or out of town,” he said.
Seniors Benny Gantrish and John He cleaned up at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. The former shut out opponent Austin Gill as the latter gave up just two games to Chris Murphy.
Gantrish seems to like the outlook for a largely returning group that finished 11-6 last season, losing to Derryfield in the quarterfinals.
“I think we’re deeper,” Gantrish said. “Everyone’s a year older. … This year, I want to win a playoff match. We haven’t done that since my freshmen year.”
Hanover advanced to the semifinals three years ago, which marked their final season at the NHIAA Division II level before moving up.
The Marauders’ He seemed happy to be returning to No. 3, a position he played at last year.
“As a No. 1 or No. 2, it’s hard to consistently win,” He said. “Most of the No. 1s and 2s we play against are much better than the average player.”
Holding down Hanover’s remaining singles spots on Friday were Matt Siegel, Aidan Biglow and Jasper Meyer with 8-0, 8-2 and 8-1 wins, respectively.
Hanover’s doubles victories went to Borell and Gantrish at No. 1, He and Biglow at No. 2, and Siegel with Will Bonner at No. 3.
Bonner, a senior captain, currently holds the No. 7 spot. Shaheen said he hasn’t yet declared spots 8-12 because the competition is very close and he doesn’t want to limit any of his players’ capacity for upward mobility. The coach will, however, be forced by NHIAA rules to solidify the five bottom spots in the coming weeks.
Hanover is off until April 21, when it is scheduled to host Manchester Memorial.
Notes: Shaheen said more than 40 players came out for spring practice, indicating a program teeming with high numbers. The strong turnout has prompted the school to add a reserve squad. … A Spanish teacher at Hanover High, Shaheen is often referred to by his players as “Coche,” a Spanish word that means “car” in English. Former students began calling him by the name thinking such use of the false cognate would irritate him as their teacher. “Little did they know, I actually like it,” he said. … Player introductions prompted numerous chuckles as Bonner used humorous nicknames to help introduce teammates prior to the match.