LEBANON — The Lebanon High boys tennis roster may look very different from last year’s squad that won the NHIAA Division II state championship, but the Raiders were as dominant as ever in their season-opening victory over St. Thomas on Friday afternoon.
Lebanon (1-0) was credited with a 5-0 victory after winning each of the five completed singles matches, before rain brought a halt to the proceedings.
“I was very pleased with the boys’ energy when they got here,” Raiders co-head coach Tammy Arado said. “We’re trying to defend that state title, that’s on all their minds, so nerves were in some of the matches, but we seemed to prevail pretty well.”
Arado’s two sons, senior Mason Arado and sophomore Nolan Arado, both won their matches, 8-0, at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions, respectively. Lebanon also got wins from junior Baden Schifferdecker, freshman Lavi Halwawala and junior Finn Ericson, each of whom dropped just one game.
The coach was especially impressed by her younger son, whose match was first to finish. Sophomore Will Katz, the Raiders’ No. 4 singles player, had a 6-4 lead when the rain necessitated that play stop.
The three doubles matches were never played, but with Lebanon having already won five of the nine scheduled contests, the overall match had already been decided.
“I definitely think they feel some pressure, especially the underclassmen who are now on the varsity team,” Arado said. “We’re just building every day and trying to make them learn new strategies.”
The Raiders are off until an April 18 match back at the CCBA Witherell Center courts against ConVal.
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.