Seahawk boys tennis coach Mark Gorey, returning for his eighth year, has lost his best player over the past three seasons due to graduation: His son, Nick Gorey, was voted the Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches for three straight years, but having several veteran players return for the 2017 season gives him hope that Boothbay Region High School will still remain competitive against its MVC opponents.

Duncan Drapeau returns for his fourth year on the team and has the most tennis playing experience.

"Duncan will take over Nick's spot at number one singles," said Gorey. "He's a solid player, played at number two singles last year, and he's one of the six seniors on the team." Gorey said Drapeau and senior doubles player Griffin Kane were voted in by their teammates as co-captains of the 2017 squad.

"Duncan and Hall-Dale's Malcom Avore played two good matches last year, although Duncan lost twice," said Gorey. "He'll probably face Malcom again at first singles this year and Duncan will also face Madison's number one player." Gorey sees Hall-Dale and Madison as two of the better teams in the conference this year.

Besides Drapeau and Kane, the other seniors include Dima Gosselin, Riley Spear, Sam Betts and newcomer Jacob Leonard. The nine-player squad also includes junior Max Hoecker, sophomore Henry Drapeau and freshman Rowan Kristan.

"We've had a couple of good weeks of practice, and if we stay healthy, we should be in the mix for the league title, which is one of our goals," said Gorey. Boothbay won the MVC championship last year.

"This group is one of the best I've coached at getting along with each other. They like each other, have some fun but when it's time to get serious, they do," said Gorey.

Four out of the first five matches for Boothbay will be on the road, including the season-opener on Friday, April 28 at Dirigo. The Seahawks' first home match is scheduled for Wednesday, May 3 against Carrabec at 4 p.m.