As the weather starts to warm up and the sky begins to break, the 2026 season for the girls and boys tennis teams here at Oliver Ames are on the horizon. The girls are coming off a great season last year that saw them end with a record of 14-4. The boys team ended last year with a solid record of 9-8.
Going into the season, there is a very real aspect of the boys team being overlooked this time around. Due to departures from last season and mixed with a new batch of youth, senior captain Brendan Teehan understands these expectations, but maintains a clear line of sight for the goals of the team.
“We are definitely a younger team but definitely have a spark to us. We definitely will be underrated going into this season.” said Teehan. “The team’s mindset this season is still definitely to make it deep into the state tournament.”
Across both teams, the vision stays the same. Senior captain for the girls, Ali Querzoli, is confident in her team even with the alterations to the lineup.
“Our team this season is going to be drastically different. We lost eight seniors last year, five of which made up our varsity lineup. However, I know we aren’t the only team in the league who lost major aspects of their team,” she said.
Querzoli said the team is young this year, with a few returning seniors.
“It’s definitely interesting to see the team makeup this year but we like to keep a smaller team. I’ve been able to see a lot of talent these past couple weeks at captains practices. I’m super excited to see who is willing to step up into these roles, and all of the girls are super competitive so we will have some good competition!”
To accomplish the goals that Querzoli has set in her mind for what she wants from the team this season, it requires every player to be on the same wavelength. The major aspect that is needed for this team to succeed according to Querzoli is an environment with a perfect balance.
“I would say the team’s mindset for this upcoming season would be to ultimately foster a hardworking and supportive environment for all of the new girls, and also to win. As a team we want to win as many matches as possible, especially since we are in a tough league,” she said. “I would say our team has an incredible balance of fun and hard work. We love to laugh and support each other but we also know when it is time to focus up and get work done. Although our team as of right now is not fully made we have gotten a good look at what our team may be especially over the duration of tryouts and captains practices.”
