After graduating 13 seniors last June, Islander coach Ryan Pang was expecting to see Mercer Island boys tennis playing in tighter matches this season.
Yet even with four freshmen players competing in big roles for the Islanders in their opener against Eastlake, the five-time defending state champs picked right up where they left off last spring.
Mercer Island opened its season with a non-league win over Eastlake, beating the Wolves 6-1 Wednesday afternoon at Mercer Island High School.
Freshmen Brandon Wong and Chris Elliott each picked up wins in impressive singles showings, and the freshmen duo of Kevin Chen and Zach Chew registered a win in their no. 1 doubles matchup, much to their coach’s delight.
“This is better than I expected because we’re missing three guys in our top ten,” said Pang, noting health and early season eligibility issues affecting his roster. “We had four freshmen playing in pivotal spots in this match, and they all came through.”
Playing in the top singles spot for the Islanders, Wong defeated Eastlake’s Thiago Bandeira 6-3, 6-2. Elliott won his no. 2 singles match over Townsend Rowland 6-0, 6-1, and Chen and Chew defeated Eastlake’s Nick Zhao and Lucas Minet 6-2, 6-3.
Jake Bethards and Caden Conder also scored singles wins for Mercer Island. Bethards defeated Jeff Gross 6-2, 6-1, and Conder won over Jerry Shen 6-3, 7-6 (2). In doubles, Alex Banbury and Luke Boksem beat Tyler Lam and Sahil Agarwal 6-1, 6-1.
Eastlake’s Anand Nambakan and Colin James scored the Wolves’ lone win, beating Jared Walker and Jared Lee 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Seeing his freshmen players exceed expectations in their opener wasn’t Pang’s only reason for excitement Wednesday. Mercer Island had a late addition to its roster in senior Nils Harder, a player who recently moved from Germany to Mercer Island. Pang said he expects the newcomer to compete for the no. 1 singles role on his team. After clearing eligibility rules, Harder may see action in late September.
It will be welcomed experience for a young Islander squad.
“It’s exciting to see. I have a lot of good younger players and this guy has a lot more experience, and he’s a senior,” Pang said. “I’m excited to see how the team reacts and how much better they’ll compete in practice and in matches.”
