Last year, in a major upset, Christian Brothers Academy secured its first-ever team sectional title in boys’ tennis with a hard-fought victory of 4-3 over Fayetteville-Manlius High School. Initially, FM was up 3-2, but an onset of rain forced the first and second doubles games to be postponed until the next day–a situation that created a difficult atmosphere for the team.
Nevertheless, FM boys’ tennis looks remarkably promising for the 2025-2026 season. Prior to the start of section playoffs, the team remained undefeated, with a 10-0 record. This included wins over Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Ithaca High School, both of which historically have been competitive teams in their sections. FM entered the team sectionals tournament as the first seed, and, despite an unfortunate loss to CBA in sectional semifinals, Team Captain Daniel Manta holds an optimistic outlook on individual post-season play: “We have a lot of guys that have qualified, all three singles and all three doubles. A lot of people, I think, will be able to make it to state quals this year, which is exciting.”
Daniel partially attributes this to significant changes to the team’s organizational structure made this year. Thanks to Coach Mark McGuigan, last year’s JV team has been reestablished as the varsity white team, and the original varsity team is now the varsity green team. Manta stated, “One of the reasons why we couldn’t really develop a [consistent] lineup last year was because we just had so many guys, and so having a white team allows us to distribute that. They play actual matches, so we’re gonna have younger guys coming up that already have that match experience coming into the years on varsity.” Under Coach Jake Cline, the boys’ varsity white team serves as a crucial part of FM boys’ tennis, providing newer players with match play to prepare them for their future on the green team. Moreover, some notable players on the varsity white team qualified for individual sectionals. These athletes will compete against varsity green members and players from other schools to be one of the top four semifinalists who go to state qualifiers.
Additionally, Manta highlights that the individual strengths of the players on the team have been invaluable to team success. This year, three freshmen have advanced to high positions on the lineup. At second singles, Josh Gates has maintained a strong 7-3 win-loss record this season, including two matches that did not count toward his official season record. Daniel notes, “I think Josh took a big step up from last year to be a second singles player, where I know that no matter who he plays, he’s going to have a strong chance to win.” Following closely, Yuto Urao has proven his position at third singles. “[Yuto] has done very well for himself at third singles, and looks like a really promising player, a threat to whoever he plays.” Lastly, Joshua Zhai took a major step-up from fourth doubles last year to partner with junior Zachary Sul in first doubles. Manta reflects, “He’s great at the net, in the clutch, and has a great mentality. You can tell he loves playing and has fun every time he’s on the court; a great teammate as well.” These freshmen, along with rising varsity white players, are likely to represent the future of FM boys’ tennis.
Success is also prevalent among the older, experienced players of the team. This season, fourth doubles Vlad Roman and Aadesh Roopnarine-Clarke boasted an undefeated record. At third doubles, brothers Johnny and Will Miller are hopeful to make state qualifiers. Manta recalled their success last year: “Everything just kind of clicked for them. They were a great doubles team, [they] ended up making it to state quals.” If FM had not been forced to play three singles and only two doubles against CBA, the outcome could likely have been very different. Second doubles players Rishi Kaul and Cooper Blum also remained undefeated during the regular season. In an intense three set match, they won against Jamesville-DeWitt High School with a match score of 6-3 5-7 11-9.
A lot needs to be said about Captain Daniel Manta himself, a senior at FM. Daniel has played on the team’s starting line up since middle school. In a season of playing first doubles with FM graduate Gene Balian, the two succeeded at state qualifiers and competed in the state tournament at the National Tennis Center in New York City. Similarly, in his sophomore year, Manta and FM alumni Justin Dunn triumphed at state qualifier finals and made it all the way to the state tournament together as first doubles.
Manta and other seniors on the varsity team express hope for the future of FM boys’ tennis. Next year, younger players will rise to multiple positions on the starting lineup. Thanks to Coach Cline and Head Coach McGuigan, these future players have already developed the skills and experience necessary to compete at the higher levels.
