After registering a record of 22-0 last season on their way to winning the FCIAC and Class LL tournaments, the Greenwich High School boys tennis team has remained absolutely perfect so far this spring.

This season has seen the Cardinals play eight matches and earn eight victories, their latest coming Friday against visiting Danbury.

Impressive in both singles and doubles play, Greenwich posted a 7-0 win against Danbury – a victory that capped an extremely busy and successful, week.

Greenwich defeated longtime FCIAC rival Staples on Monday, 6-1, topped Trumbull Tuesday, 5-2, then visited New Canaan on Wednesday and edged the Rams, 4-3, to keep their undefeated record intact. The Cardinals mixed up their lineup against Danbury on Friday, resting some singles and doubles players who competed in tough three-set matches the previous days.

“It was a tough week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we were playing top five teams,” Greenwich coach Ray Marschall said. “Staples is always tough, they have been our traditional rival for decades. Our guys stepped up nicely. Trumbull the next day, was another tough match and we pulled out our match against New Canaan.”

Last season, the Cardinals defeated Darien, 4-3, in the championship match of the FCIAC Tournament, giving them their first conference title since 2014.

In the title match of the 2023 Class LL Tournament, Greenwich was victorious against Staples, 4-0, giving it its first state championship since the 2017 season. Following last season’s undefeated campaign, expectations are obviously, high for this year’s Cardinals.

“The expectations are high, but we live for that,” Greenwich junior Tristan Sowter said. “We all want those expectations, we all want to be seen as that first seed.”

Sowter got the start at No. 1 singles for the Cardinals in their home match against Danbury on Friday. He has played both singles and doubles so far this season. Against Danbury’s Jose Zambrano, he won at the top singles spot, 6-0, 6-0.

“It was a great match for me, I played really well, I played super solid,” Sowter said. “My level was a little higher for sure. He played a good match, but I was playing my best game out there and came out on top.”

Junior Alexander Salib has played first singles while sophomore Volodymyr Dombrovskyi works his way back to the lineup from an injury and Salib has provided clutch wins for the Cards. Salib, junior Manuel Galli Specos, junior Matthew Hunt and senior Bruce Lunder each got the match off against Danbury. They have sparked GHS in singles competition.

“Matthew played two three setters, Alex played three, three setters, Manuel played three, three setters, so they did not play today,” Marschall said of the singles players’ previous matches this week. “I asked them today, no double faults, no unforced errors and have high percentage shots and they did, they were great.”

Daniel Lee, a junior, gave Greenwich a 6-1, 6-0 win at second singles against Danbury’s George Pesantez. At third singles, freshman Will Neuenfeldt received the start and took his match, 6-0, 6-1.

Noah Everett, a junior, was victorious at No. 4 singles for the Cardinals versus the Hatters, 6-0, 6-0. In doubles action, the experienced senior duo of Harrison Wolfe and Rohan Mittal showcased their skills in giving Greenwich a 6-1, 6-0 win. Wolfe is one of the Cardinals’ captains.

“It feels really good, it’s a very different experience,” Wolfe said of his role as one of the squad’s captains. “There’s a lot more responsibility, whether it’s keeping the team together, or boosting or confidence in a tough match. It’s definitely a different experience being a captain. The wins and losses feel a lot more personal.”

This marks the second season that Mittal and Wolfe are competing at the No. 1 doubles position for GHS.

“Having that experience helps with chemistry, because a lot of these teams have been here for one year and we have been playing together for two years,” Wolfe noted. “We have improved a lot as a team since last year – having more coordination and really knowing each other’s games and knowing how to work with each other.”

Indeed, Wolfe and Mittal’s abilities on the court impressively complement each other.

“I’m an aggressive baseliner with a big serve and Rohan has nice hands at the net,” Wolfe noted. “He’s really good at putting the ball away if I hit a serve he is good at taking a good volley.”

At second doubles against Danbury, juniors Ishan Ambastha/Nicholas Frumin won their match, 6-0, 6-0. Junior Pierre August and sophomore Elias Orrell also had exactly the same success at No. 3, winning, 6-0, 6-0. Also captaining the Cardinals are Lunder and Galli Specos.

“I think we’re getting more and more cohesive as the season is going on,” Lunder said. “The first couple of matches were a little dicey, but I think we showed how much we’ve grown when we played New Canaan the other day – coming together as a team and supporting Matthew in the deciding match.”

With the score tied at 3-3 against host New Canaan, Hunt won his singles match and Greenwich continued its undefeated streak.

“Matthew Hunt went to a third set against a guy who would not give up,” Marschall said. “Finally, Matt outlasted him 6-4, our team was so happy.”

Lunder has played at several spots so far this spring for the Cardinals, who possess plenty of depth in singles and doubles.

“I’ve been playing with a bunch of partners, kind of helping coach out seeing what doubles teams work and what don’t,” Lunder said. “Coming back from an injury, I’m getting my rhythm back.”

Galli Specos has been one of the players that’s stepped up in key matches in singles competition against the Cards’ FCIAC rivals.

“It’s fun to have these challenging matches, because it motivates you to practice in the week knowing that you have an impact on the team,” Galli Specos said.

“This year we have a lot of new players, but at the same time most of them are stepping up perfectly,” Galli Specos added. “They are doing great, some of them are starting and that’s key.”

Said Marschall: “The teamwork and camaraderie of this group is great.”

Greenwich visits another FCIAC rival, Darien, on Monday, then travels to Stamford on Tuesday, before hosting a solid Ridgefield team on Thursday.

“The potential is limitless, we have so many good players, I really think we’re going to go undefeated again,” Sowter said. “Our time with Dylan (Atkinson, the team’s No. 1 singles player last season) and that super high intensity mindset last year definitely stayed with us throughout this year. That’s the reason why we’re keeping so much pace and we came out on top against New Canaan.”

“Last season’s experience has really helped with knowing what you’re supposed to feel in big moments and being comfortable in those big moments like deep in FCIACs and deep in states,” Lunder noted. “We have Darien on Monday and Westhill coming up, I think those are going to be the two biggest challenges. We are using those to get ready for FCIACs and states.”