With the addition of a strong freshman class, the boys’ tennis team hopes to top their previous record and achieve the State Championship this year.

According to coach Gerald Cushing, new players such as freshmen Christian Jorgensen, Riyan Farhat and Andy Zhao have helped the team grow stronger.

“It’s a very strong freshmen class, and we’re getting really good contributions,” Cushing said.

“They’re really playing their best everyday at practice, so I think the future of the team really looks bright because of these new members,” senior captain Bijoy Shah said. “It’s always awesome getting new ideas and new attitudes in the team.”

The team attributes their current 9-0 record (as of May 4) to their unity and feeling of a family bond.

“Tennis is much more of a team sport than people think,” Shah said. “Every day coming into practice, I’m really happy just seeing everyone involved with each other.”

“We’re all pretty close, and we’ve all been forced to do everything together,” Zhao said.

Zhao, despite playing for seven years, still feels he can improve on his match skills.

“When you get higher up into more advanced tennis, having good net game is much more important because that’s when you are most aggressive,” Zhao said. “That’s my weakness point and I need to work on that.”

Many players are focused on improving their individual weaknesses to help the team as a whole..

“I think one of my weakest points is when you get down in a match and you’re losing by so much, trying to stay positive is hard,” sophomore Will Koziel said.

“It would help if we played some really tough matches to get us ready for the end of the season and districts,” Cushing said. “One of the weaknesses is looking forward to playing some really good competitive tennis, and that’s going to come with Westborough and Saint John’s.”

The players also look forward to these challenging games..

“Being a senior, I’ve seen our team fall to St. John’s twice in a row, so I’m really looking forward to St. John’s, and I really think this team can do it this year,” Shah said.

“Our last game is against Westborough High, and they’ve always been the tough team to beat because they have players coming from the Westboro tennis club,” junior captain Ian Kim said. “We could definitely pull a win against them, but it’s going to really take a lot more effort than what we are at now.”

The team’s main goal is to advance further than they have in the past, having lost to St. John’s in the 2015 semifinals.

“We’re stronger this year, and are looking to go deeper into the Central Mass Districts than we did last year,” Cushing said.

“We have a pretty good chance at making at least semifinals,” Zhao said. “That’s what we’re aiming for.”

The team attributes at least some of their current success to their coach.

“Mr. Cushing is so prepared in the match because he knows which players mesh well with which players for doubles, and he’s able to have everyone play a match,” Kim said.

“Our coach always says he doesn’t care about whether you win or lose in a match,” Shah said. “He just wants to see you playing well.”

Overall, the team is looking forward to a successful season.

“It’s a great group of guys and they’re willing to learn and get better,” Cushing said.

“Now that our team has gotten some really great freshmen and our team overall has boosted up, we can really get anything if we put the effort in,” Kim said.