The Emmaus boys tennis team entered this season with a 1-27 record against rival Parkland in the last 18 years with the only win being in 2019. The struggles for the Green Hornets against the Trojans continued in the regular season meeting this year as Parkland posted a 4-2 victory on April 15.

But 15 days later in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals, the Green Hornets finally broke through against their rival, putting together a 3-2 win and securing a berth in the district championship match.

“We were able to beat Parkland in the team district semifinals because we won the third singles match with Caleb Brown,” Emmaus coach Fred Saab said. “During the regular season match, Nick and Chris Stone won both of their matches. However, in team districts we won all three singles matches. Ultimately the boys desired to win this match and marked this rivalry match on the calendar. After research we found the statistic that since 2005 our record against Parkland was 1-27 with the one win in 2019. We used this statistic as motivation and the team was able to rise to the occasion.”

For his ability to help the Emmaus boys tennis team to a rare win over its rival and guide the Green Hornets to the district final, Saab is the 2024 lehighvalleylive.com Boys Tennis Coach of the Year.

He’s the first Green Hornets coach to receive the honor.

Emmaus finished the season with a 17-4 record. Two of those losses came against three-time defending district champion Liberty, which topped the Green Hornets in the D-11 3A final.

Green Hornets freshman Chris Stone, who played No. 2 singles for the team throughout the season, rolled through the field to win the District 11 Class 3A singles championship. The freshman also finished second in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference No. 2 singles tournament.

Junior Nick Stone, the No. 1 singles player for Emmaus, finished third in the EPC No. 1 singles tourney and reached the semifinals in district singles.

“It was absolutely amazing and so special to watch Chris Stone win the district singles championship,” Saab said. “His will to win along with his dedication and athletic abilities are second to none. Chris is a natural leader so I expected him to have an impact on the team. He believed he could win districts, which was his goal at the beginning of the season. Helping him achieve his goal is something I will never forget. Coaching both Nick and Chris Stone is an unbelievable gift and privilege. To have one player of their level on a team is great to have. Having two players who are brothers with their ability is very rare but special and amazing.”

The 52-year-old Saab is the director of operations for a biologics company.

Saab graduated from Salisbury High School, Blair Academy and then Lehigh University. He played junior tennis tournaments, at the high school level and then at Lehigh.

He’s married to Tracey and they have two children, Ava Grace, who is a rising senior at Emmaus High School, and Freddie, who will be entering fifth grade in the fall.

Emmaus had six seniors this year with them being Ben Fletcher, Quiad Peatiwala, Sarvesh Senguttuvan, Ryan Baig, Josh Haas and Ahmad Naveed.

“They meant a lot to the team bringing with them their experience, enthusiasm and a positive influence. They will all be missed,” Saab said.

The Green Hornets seniors and the rest of the team developed a cohesiveness that helped them conquer the rival Trojans in the postseason.

“I am most proud of how all the boys on the team grew together to become great friends and teammates,” Saab said. “That bond helped the boys fight so hard in their matches to win their own matches, which in turn made the team successful.”

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Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com.