Last year’s Salisbury boys tennis season was supposed to be a perfect send off for former head coach Rob Benson. He was leading arguably the most well rounded team, top to bottom, over his career at Salisbury. There were high expectations for the Falcons as a team.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With the 2020 spring sports season canceled due to the virus, no one got to see those Falcons reach their potential.

In all, six Falcon senior starters graduated last year, led by No. 1 singles player Dylan Weber. And the Falcons’ nine-year coach departed for retirement as was his plan before the season.

But with one door closing, another must open. Enter newly hired head coach Stan Fidrych - who spent three seasons under Benson as an assistant - and a new pack of Falcons looking to make some noise in 2021.

“We had six solid tennis players,” Fidrych said. “They were all starters, and we were counting on having a 10-3 year [in the Colonial League], and getting a couple rounds into the playoffs. But they were gone.”

After a canceled season last spring though, the Falcons are just glad they’re able to play a year later. Only two returning seniors have taken the court in Fidrych’s first season: No. 1 singles player Chris Marinos and No. 1 doubles player CJ Ekdahl.

Edahl is back at the No. 1 doubles spot he played two seasons ago, but now he has a new partner in first-year player Baxter Reihman. The senior tandem has been impressive early, winning all five of their matches.

“The No. 1 doubles team is my experienced team,” Fidrych said. “I tried to team him [CJ Ekdahl] with somebody who could accent his game. I got a guy that we got from basketball; he’s about 6-foot-4 and he just covers the net. CJ knows how to play doubles. They’re a good team and I think they can beat anyone.”

Marinos is the other experienced Falcon who saw court time under Benson in 2019. In addition to his skills on the court, his leadership and experience will be critical for this group of Falcons, which includes two freshmen at the other two singles positions.

Nolan Grejda and Tristan Monahan, playing at No. 2 and No. 3 singles respectively, are both first-year players. While Fidrych expects some growing pains early in the season, he’s seen eye-opening athleticism from both players that has him optimistic for the future.

“They’ve just started to learn the game over the past three months,” Fidrych said. “They are soccer players. They are freshmen, but I like that because I can move them up the ladder as they progress. They have the tools. They have the desire. They’re always the first on the courts in practice, and the last to leave. They definitely want to learn how to win.”

Two more new players - junior Drew Hines and senior Danny Scialla - will suit up at the No. 2 doubles for Fidrych.

With much youth and inexperience on this team, Fidrych is keeping his expectations realistic. In what he’s deemed a “rebuilding” year, the first-year head coach would be happy with a .500 record in 2021.

“If we have a .500 season this year, that would be great,” Fidrych said. “We’re in a division where everything is tight … Our guys are going to get some real experience on Wednesday [against Central Catholic] and Thursday [against Moravian Academy].

“Anything over that and I think we’ve had a better than expected year because we are rebuilding. The way I’m looking at it, we can do that. No one has wiped us out yet in competition, but we have Moravian, Southern Lehigh and Central Catholic coming up.”