The Quaker Valley boys tennis team has a full squad — nine players — back from last year.
“Experience is on our side,” QV coach Christi Hays said. “And we are versatile; many of the boys can play both singles and doubles. All of them saw playing time last year. So, it will be fun and challenging for me to figure out the best lineup from match to match and to find enough playing time for each player.
“In years past, we were basically made up of several ‘true’ tennis players — those who worked on their game year-round — and mostly good athletes who played tennis. But more of our players spent time in this offseason honing their skills than in previous years. To say that we are excited about this season is an understatement.”
The year’s team could be labeled the Triple Threes.
The team is comprised of senior captains Tanner Schultz, Patrick Connors and Sutton Hoehl; juniors Charlie Pyle, Jack Watson and Will Meagher; and sophomores Carter Hawes, Dom Ditano and J.P. Kenney.
“A lot of what we have been saying this year is to redeem last season’s (early) exit,” Schultz said. “We were frustrated with how last season ended, especially because we thought we could’ve gone further without injuries. We have high hopes to win WPIALs and make a run for states.”
Meagher and Schultz are returning starters at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions.
“Tanner Schultz had a season-ending injury last year right as we entered the postseason,” Hays said. “His absence really hurt us. But he is back in full strength.”
Meagher says it’s “playoffs or bust” — as always — for the Quakers in 2026.
“I think as long as we stay healthy, we can go deep into the playoffs,” Meagher said. “We only lost one starter, so the team’s main goal is to make a run at a WPIAL title — as it is every year.”
The rest of the QV lineup will be fluid.
Ditano and Hawes have raised their games and will be mostly in the third singles or doubles positions. They will be in competition for those spots with Connors, Sutton, Hoehl and Kenny from match to match.
“Adding even more depth,” Hays said, “we will have juniors Charlie Pyle and Jack Watson, who are just recently joining the tennis team after finishing up their hockey season as standout members of the Quaker Valley state champion hockey team.
“Charlie played a lot of third singles last year. And Jack was injured most of last year but is looking forward to contributing this year.”
Speaking of last year, the Quakers designated themselves as Team Scrappy in 2025.
“Last year’s team had somewhat disappointing results,” Hays said. “But we were basically starting from scratch. Going into the season, we had lost seven of 10 varsity players to graduation. We had three returning players but only one starter.
“But we lived up to our nickname — we were scrappy — and we competed in every match. We finished with a record of 7-4 and third in arguably the toughest section in (Class 2A). Our losses were to quality teams — Sewickley Academy, North Catholic, Valley and Hampton.”
QV qualified for the WPIAL Class 2A team tournament last year but finished sixth, missing the PIAA playoffs for the first time in recent memory.
The Quakers have given this year’s team the nickname of Team Redeem.
“We are focused on redeeming ourselves and taking care of the job at hand,” Hays said. “As always, we’d like to win our section title, qualify for WPIAL team tournament and then will see where we can go from there.
“We have a deep, experienced and talented team, so we are excited to start down the redemption trail.”
The Quakers started strong, picking up 5-0 victories against Moon, Montour and Knoch.
“I remind the boys all the time to enjoy the process,” Hays said. “We are just looking to improve on our last effort each match. Being a high school student-athlete is like walking a tightrope — balancing social, academic, extracurricular activities and family responsibilities.
“As coaches, we try to help them to walk that line so that we can navigate a successful season. A boys tennis season is like a 440 in track. It’s not really a sprint or a distance event, but it is vigorous with all the moving parts.”
With so many experienced players on this year’s squad, one of the “good” problems Hays faces at QV matches is who to insert into the lineup.
“Several will get additional playing time helping out the JV, as we have done in other years,” Hays said. “It is a win-win situation for both groups.
“Other criteria used to establish our (lineup) is how much they’ve played during the year, how well they do in the drills, how quickly they pick up information, their energy, effort and commitment and if they are willing and able to adopt a varsity mindset, which is especially important.”
The bottom line?
“Each player earns his spot,” Hays said.