Abhinav Avvaru will be one of the keys for Nashua South as the tennis season opens this week. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

That tennis feel may not be in the air just yet, but the NHIAA schedule waits for no one.

At least the snow has melted.

Thus despite gusty winds and cold temps, the local high school tennis season begins anew this week. When we last left it, the Nashua High School South boys tennis team had mixed emotions. The Panthers were happy with their season in which they dominated everyone except two teams: Champion Hanover and runnerup Bedford, the latter which eliminated the Panthers in the semis. New coach Sam Kluger will have a good nucleus to work with, and the goal will be to vault past those two powers, both of whom should be strong again this season.

Bishop Guertin, meanwhile, has a lot of talent back from the team that lost to the Panthers in the quarterfinals, while Nashua North also looks to take the next step. Alvirne begins the post-Meuse Twins Era while Merrimack looks to improve in a big way with six ladder players back.

In Division II, locals Souhegan and Hollis Brookline, contenders in the past, are building anew to get back to that level.

Once again, neither Milford nor Wilton-Lyndeborough will field a boys team, going on four years without.

Besides Kluger, there are a couple of other new coaches in the area, so let’s take a look:

DIVISION I

There’s good news and bad news for Kluger’s Panthers. The bad is that talented No. 1 player Santiago Somorrostro won’t be playing, presumably to focus more time on his top sport, soccer.

The good news for South is the trio of juniors Abhinav Avvaru and Atul Phadke as well as senior Ansh Khanna are back. Avvaru also spent time at No. 1 last year, and there’s a lot of talent with him and the returning core.

“As the new coach, I must say this team has incredible promise and talent,” said Kluger, who is coming in fresh after his college career at Nichols. “This team is willing to work and is coachable which is likely to bring them to a new competitive level.”

Nashua North, meanwhile, is looking stronger as it tries to improve from last year as well. Rudra Patel, Shikhar Gupta and Jack Desjardins are the top three in singles and also add up to winning doubles teams, which gives the Titans a solid point base.

“Breaking above .500 is an early goal with .600 as an accomplishment,” Titans coach Robert Trowbridge said. “The lineup looks solid #1 through #5 in singles, and we’re having fun in moving forward week by week.”

Keep an eye on Bishop Guertin. The returnees are bolstered by a new junior, Nick Xie, who has shown No. 1 skills. Experienced players Gavin Bombara, Will Moynihan, Sean Cairns, Aditya Prasad and Sean Finnegan should have the Cards on pace for a second straight double-digit win season.

“I’m excited to see these players compete,” Guertin coach Tom Lizotte said, “as they’re all improved from last year.”

Alvirne will build around juniors Caleb Lamber and Zack Proulx, plus freshman Sam Hergenhahn as they look to bounce back from a 3-11 season.

There could be some growing pains.

“We have a lot of players who are brand new to tennis,” new coach Sam Bonney-Liles said, “but what we lack in experience we make up for with athleticism…I think we will surprise some teams.”

Want returnees? Then look at Merrimack, where coach Don Chisholm has the luxury of, from Nos. 1 through 6, Reese Lopez, Owen Miner, George Benoit, Max Townsen, Tyler Barnard and Tawan Burger all back. Plus eight other returnees to provide oodles of depth.

“We’re returning for the most part all of our team from last year that went 3-11,” Chisholm said.

DIVISION II

The Sabers were supposed to be rebuilding a bit last year, but ended up having a great start despite a tough finish. But this year Souhegan coach John Kilgore means it when he says “This year is a rebuild season.”

That’s because the Sabers graduated nine seniors and four starters from last year. Returning from that singles ladder are juniors Ryan Fernandez and Connor Firmin. Senior newcomer Philip Dodge could challenge for a spot at the top of the lineup.

Keep an eye on Saber freshmen Keegan Beatty Case Knuckles and Parker Shade. They’re a key.

“We expect to improve with every match this year as our new players gain much needed match play experience,” Kilgore said.

The HB Cavaliers, meanwhile, have their third coach in three seasons, David Hersey, but he’s very optimistic for a good season built around the trio of senior Bryon Giersch, sophomore William Critchfield and freshman Samuel Anthony.

“The team is looking stronger than ever with a handful of young talent joining this year,” Hersey, a school counselor at HB, said. “We’re looking forward to a competitive season.”