Boys tennis program on the rise at B.M.C. Durfee High School

FALL RIVER — For decades, B.M.C. Durfee High school has been very well known for its sports teams.

Football, basketball and baseball were always at the top of the list.

Volleyball, swimming, track and field, wrestling, softball, soccer, hockey and even field hockey teams have also received a good deal of attention from time to time.

But when it comes to tennis, you have to travel back in time to the days of three-sport athlete and Hilltopper Hall of Fame Scott Santos, who excelled in the sport in the mid-1980s.

Not anymore.

This spring, the boys tennis program on Elsbree Street took a big leap.

"Being in a city where tennis isn't a prevalent thing, these kids have put it upon themselves to say 'hey' we're going to turn ourselves into a real tennis program," Durfee head coach Eric Gomes said.

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The Hilltopper boys tennis team had a season to remember this year, finishing with a 14-4 regular-season mark and a 6-2 record in the Southeast Conference. It is the best finish for Durfee in over two decades.

The Hilltoppers also made history by winning its first tournament match in over two decades, beating Haverhill 4-1 in a Division I preliminary match at Bicentennial Park Tennis Court.

Although its magical ride ended in the Round of 32 at the hands of a talented Lexington squad, Durfee solidified themselves as another top sports contender at the high school.

"I inherited a program six years ago that had no tennis background whatsoever," Gomes said. "It was just a thing to do after school. Throughout the years, we've progressively gotten better to the point where now we're seen by schools around us as a respectable tennis program."

Gomes' first season as head coach of the Hilltoppers produced a 9-9 record and the first of three consecutive conference championships. He had a record of 10-10 in 2018 and 9- 11 in 2019 — both resulting in conference championships.

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season and Gomes' team managed just a 5-8 record during a shortened 2021 season. Then came the breakout season in 2022.

"This team really took that next step and now we go into matches, knowing we are going to beat our opponent," Gomes said.

One of the main reasons for Durfee's success was getting Jorge Beltran-Sainz — an exchange student from Madrid, Spain. BeltranSainz, whose older brother Javier played for Gomes, had a fantastic 12-6 record against the area's best at first singles.

"I've never seen Jorge play, just videos of him from his brother Javier," Gomes said. "But I saw the writing on the wall after the first practice. I said we're going to win a lot."

Two-year senior captain Chris Panchley moved from first singles to second singles and piled up the most wins with a 15-3 record. Freshman Will Rumsey, who played last year as an eighth grader, had a remarkable season at third singles with a 14-4 mark.

Gomes experimented with sophomore Jack Fitzgerald and junior Murali Mahaseth at first doubles early in the year before making freshman Chrispin Sokol a permanent teammate with Fitzgerald at first doubles.

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Junior Jesse Tamba and freshman Colin Fleet were sensational at second doubles and finished with a 15-3 record.

"It was evident we were going to have a good singles team," Gomes said. "Outside of Somerset and Dartmouth, those singles guys are off the court in an hour. They were handing guys their shirts.

"The doubles team have gotten better as the season went along. I knew we were going to have a good season but did not know it was going to be this good. I was very happy with it."

Gomes said he recruited some of his players — Fleet and Sokol — when they were  freshman soccer players. Panchley, who was a goalkeeper, was also recruited as a freshman.

"I told myself I'm going to get the three very best talented athletic freshmen to come in and play tennis for me every year," Gomes said. "I don't get kids with rackets in their hands until high school. I have to get the athletes."

For a city-based school like Durfee, other teams such as New Bedford (1-17), Brockton (2-8), Everett (0-11), Springfield Central (2-12), Braintree (1-16) and Lawrence (0-12) fell short of meeting the grade like the Hilltoppers have this spring.

"By all accounts, we should not be a tennis school," Gomes said. "But these kids have bought into the seriousness of my program from the start. When I first took over there was an obvious shift in expectations, and there were some growing pains and not everyone was on board. But over the years, we have built something truly amazing here."

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Boys tennis program on the rise this spring at Durfee High School