Five of the eight players on the 2018 Boothbay Region High School boys tennis roster have yet to compete in a high school match.

Coach Mark Gorey will be putting together a whole new lineup after six players from last year’s squad graduated. The only returning players are senior Max Hoecker (fourth year), junior Henry Drapeau (third year) and sophomore Rowan Kristan. Newcomers are senior Connor Demmons, sophomores Mason Erhard, Cody Field and Patrick Conlin, and freshman Ryan Russell.

Not only is Gorey working with a new set of players, he said three of the players are missing practice time due to other commitments – two are taking driver’s education two afternoons a week and Demmons is continuing his track career as well (he is a team captain) and can only practice with the tennis team one day a week.

It’s the “usual complications with spring sports,” said Gorey in an email. “The declining enrollment at the high school is continuing to necessitate the sharing of athletes to keep teams ‘afloat.’”

Despite what Gorey has been dealt, he said: “I am optimistic about our season. A ‘rebuilding year,’ my goals may not be as lofty as an MVC championship or making the Class C region final (where we've been the past two years), but I do have the aspiration of building skills, having fun, and making playoffs, all reasonable goals. And I look forward to taking singles' players to the singles tournament prelims.”