The boys tennis lost in a heartbreaker Wednesday afternoon, falling 3-2 to 3rd seed Newburyport in the second round of the division 3 playoffs.

“The boys battled hard,” said head coach Jock Cooperrider. “I’m so proud of them. It would have been a nice upset, but it was still a great match.”

Considered a rebuilding year after the loss of six seniors from the 2025 starting lineup, the team quickly showed they were a contender. After earning a 13-4 regular season record, the team easily won their first playoff round against Fairhaven.

The 14th seeded Vineyarders faced much stiffer competition against powerhouse Newburyport but nearly pulled off the upset. Tied at two matches apiece the whole team gathered around the second doubles match which would decide the match.

Anderson Berger had won at first singles (6-4, 2-6, 6-3) and Nate Walsh notched a victory at third singles (7-5, 6-4), while Tommy Flynn lost at second singles (2-6, 3-6) and the first doubles team of Moses Thomson and Aeneas Forrester fell 5-7, 6-7.

The future was on the racquets of Jayden Fuller and Carter Masselli at second doubles, tied at a set apiece (0-6, 6-3), and 5-5 in the deciding third set.

The heat was a factor, said Coach Cooperrider. “One of our players had heat stroke but continued to fight hard.”

In the end Newburyport prevailed 7-5 in the third set.

Coach Cooperrider, who stepped up just a week before the season began for his rookie season as coach, said that while a deeper playoff run would have been exciting, the real measure of success is how much improvement the players experienced.

“If we had played Newburyport at the beginning of the season, I am sure we would have been blown out,” he said. “But here, at the end of the season, we took them to the limit.”

“To see how much we improved this year, as a coach, that is exactly what you want to see happen,” he added.

And next year already looks promising.

“We are a very young team, only losing one senior starter,” Coach Cooperrider said.