The Nansemond-Suffolk Academy boys’ tennis team has enjoyed a successful season thus far, and even Thursday’s home loss to Hickory High School illustrated why the Saints are a force to be reckoned with.

Lacking eighth-grader Nathan Pharr, who is a key contributor at the five seed, NSA only lost 6-3 to the Hawks, who are one of the top teams in the Southeastern District and are now 10-0 this season.

“I felt real good about the day, to tell you the truth,” Nansemond-Suffolk head coach Randolph Davis said. “Of course, Jackson (DeMello) played very well. Really good win for Ryan Witherow, who’s actually playing a seed higher than he normally does. He’s normally six.”

Witherow moved up to number five in the absence of Pharr, who is a musician and was out of town on a school band trip. Witherow won 6-3, 6-1.

DeMello won 7-5, 6-0 in his singles match.

“It went pretty well,” DeMello said. “It started off slow in the first set, but then picked it up in the second set and had less mistakes.”

Corey Cutright, NSA’s No. 1 seed, struggled against Alex Krupp, a two-time district champion who seems headed for a third title. Cutright lost 6-1, 6-0. He cited an inconsistency in his serving as a reason for his difficulty.

Also struggling were Nansemond-Suffolk’s No. 2, Tucker Firnstahl, falling 6-2, 6-0, and the No. 4, Preston Firnstahl, losing 6-1, 6-2.

“I don’t think Preston played his best match today, but I think had we had everybody here, I think we could have beat these guys,” Davis said.

At 8-5, the Saints are feeling good about this year.

“I think we’re doing well,” DeMello said. “It’s one of the best seasons we’ve had here in a while, probably.”

“I think we have good tennis players, one through six, and we’re getting good wins down the line,” Davis said.

“Corey’s playing much, much better than he did at the beginning of the year at No. 1. It’s just tough to play No. 1 with our schedule, because everybody has a good No. 1,” he said.

He added that Tucker Firnstahl has played well at two, where just about every team has another strong player.

“Jackson’s playing well at three, Preston’s playing well at four, the real surprise is Nathan, as an eighth-grader, doing very well at number five and the big surprise probably has been Ryan, who’s never played (for the team) before.”

The Saints will return to play within the conference with a home match today against Cape Henry Collegiate School.