Teams Get Tennis Season Underway

The Severna Park varsity tennis team does the same thing over and over each season: win championships.

The Falcons are just so hard to beat. They’ve lost only one county match over the past decade.

More importantly, Severna Park has captured 10 straight county team titles and four of the past five regional crowns.

The caliber of this year’s squad appears to be on par or even better than all the previous championship teams.

And good luck finding a weakness on the 2023 Falcons. They feature nine seniors along with a slew of blossoming underclassmen.

“What sets this team apart is the mix of outstanding seniors and a talented group of freshmen,” Severna Park coach Mark Bieberich said.

Falcons assistant coach Emily Bear said a feeder system and the players’ work ethic help make Severna Park a powerhouse.

“Chartwell [Golf & Country Club] and Sport Fit Bowie really turn out some good players for us,” Bear explained. “We have a really good feeder community. And there’s a great camaraderie among our players. They want to get better. They work together in the offseason, and we really encourage that all year round.”

It’s not every year that Severna Park gets such a talented trio of players like seniors Lucas Fuhrmann, Chris Preston and Charlie Herman.

Preston won the No. 1 regional singles title last year and Fuhrman beat Herman for the county No. 1 singles championship.

They’re good in doubles, too. Fuhrmann and Herman own the last two No. 1 regional doubles crowns.

The trio is eager to continue its success in the county tournament, which starts May 9.

“They are great leaders and set the example for the rest of the team,” Bieberich said.

Bieberich is particularly impressed with Fuhrmann.

“You look at all the tennis players in the county,” the coach explained. “I can’t think of any that love tennis as much as Lucas or who works as hard as he does at his game.”

Junior Kiran Spencer is another standout doubles player.

Freshmen Gavin Gerard and Ty Maddox and seniors Nick Patrick and Max Rossmark offer excellent depth.

Sophomore Carys Preston leads the girls team. She finished as county runner-up last year and is poised for county and regional success this spring.

“She is the only girl who plays year-round on our team,” Bear said. “Her improvement from year to year has shown because of that.”

Sophomore Kaiya Norton and senior Lylah Mudd support Preston in the lineup.

Broadneck

For the Bruins, there’s sophomore Olivia Mellynchuk and the rest of the team.

The 5-foot-2 Mellynchuk just dominated last year. She didn’t lose a game or set on her way to No. 1 singles county and regional titles.

She finished the season with her only loss coming in the Class 4A state championship match.

Mellynchuk, whose sister Vanessa, a South River graduate, plays at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is primed to return to the state tournament and win it this time. She’s 24-1 over the past two seasons.

“She will definitely be playing Division I in college,” Broadneck tennis coach Kathy Perrotta said of a player ranked 125th in the country in her age group. “She has a powerful serve, is very focused and can get a player moving side to side with shots in each corner.”

Clearly, the girls team is Broadneck’s strength. Seniors Elicia Aponte and Rebecca Terry prevailed in the county doubles championship match in 2022.

Other standouts include No. 2 singles player Natalie Hosie and two freshmen doubles players, Anissa Jean-Claude and Hadley Crooks.

Two foreign exchange players, senior Zoe Pierriuse and junior Malaika Latif, gave the team a boost.

Broadneck is also good in mixed doubles with Aponte and junior Charlie Ernst capturing a regional title last season.

On the boys side, senior Gustav Kemp (No. 1 singles), Ernst (No. 2 singles) and the freshmen No. 1 doubles team of Ryan Sar and Koa Hamilton highlight the squad.