Better late winter weather this year has allowed the Emmaus tennis team to be on the courts on a more consistent basis than a year ago. With the first week of the season under its belt, the team has gotten off to a quick 3-0 start with wins over Pocono Mountain West, East Stroudsburg South and Easton by a combined score of 20-1.

The Hornets return District 11 champion Matt FitzMaurice at their number one singles spot, leading a good crop of singles players who are backed up by solid doubles pairings and a team with a lot of depth.

Fellow seniors Sanket Narayana and Cam Widdoss are playing two and three doubles to open the season. Returning doubles players include seniors Dan Traynor, Darsh Patel, Zooey He and Steve Naab. Junior Marko Maricic has battled his way into doubles play with a strong showing early on and has been teamed with He as the team’s number two doubles tandem.

“We have a lot of depth this year in our lineup, but now, we have to see where that takes us,” said coach Dmitri Diamandopoulos, who is in his 23rd season with the team. “We have some good, young guys. All of the guys that I kept on the team can play, but unfortunately for the young guys, it’s going to be tough for them to break into the lineup. But they definitely have talent and it’s going to be their time. We have some talent, with freshmen and sophomores that are coming up.”

FitzMaurice downed Parkland’s Nick Kshatri, who is also one of his best friends, for the district singles title last season and is hoping to repeat in that role. FitzMaurice and Kshatri could well be destined for a rematch if all goes according to plan for the two players.

“I definitely think that he can repeat,” said Diamandopoulos of his top player. “He’s worked at it. He’s determined. He’s probably one of the most determined players I’ve ever coached. He really wants to win and he’s a great team player, which is the most important thing. He’s there to help the team. He’s there to talk to them. He’s not a kid that just shows up for matches. He’s a true team player.”

Freedom took the district team championship last season, but the Patriots have a big hole to fill with the loss of Andrew Sinai to graduation. Looking around the EPC this season, Diamandopoulos believes the Patriots will still be a strong contender and sees other quality teams that are going to make the conference difficult to win.

“I always think that we’re going to be at the top of the heap,” said Diamandopoulos. “I know there are a lot of solid teams out there, but I’m really confident with our team. The last couple of years we’ve really put together some good, quality kids and talent and now we’re gaining depth. That’s going to help us out.

“Parkland is going to have a solid team, Freedom has good kids. Nazareth is going to be good. They always have a pretty good lineup top-to-bottom. I think with our team, the key is going to be the three and four doubles positions. That’s where we’re going to win our matches.”

Emmaus has its first big test of the season with a home match against Freedom Wednesday afternoon.