Mylan WTT Team Preview: Boston Lobsters

Mylan World TeamTennis celebrates its 40th birthday this year. For more on WTT, including this season's schedule, click here.

2014 Record: 1-13 (3rd in the East)

General Manager: Colleen Hopkins  

Key Additions: Eugenie Bouchard, Irina Falconi  

Key Losses: John Isner  

Returners: Scott Lipsky  

Coach: Jan-Michael Gambill

A familiar name in Mylan World TeamTennis has undergone a major makeover in anticipation for the 2015 season, looking poised to breathe new life into the professional team tennis league’s Eastern Conference.

The Boston Lobsters have been a staple of Mylan WTT since it returned to the league in 2005, reaching the Conference Championships in four of five consecutive seasons. Last year brought that momentum to a heartbreaking halt; Boston won just one match in fourteen played, finishing a distant third behind Eastern rivals, the Washington Kastles and the Philadelphia Freedoms.

To recover from the lackluster campaign, it was evident that something needed to change. Boston opted for a fresh start and changed everything -- from coach to roster. Looking for a leader who knew the Mylan WTT format and had a passion for seeing the Lobsters succeed, Boston looked no further than Jan-Michael Gambill. A former Top 25 player in singles and doubles, Gambill played eight seasons of Mylan WTT, four for Boston. With a burgeoning coaching resumé, Gambill worked with Boston alum CoCo Vandeweghe for over two years.

“It’s great to be back at an organization that’s both old and new,” Gambill told wtt.com in Indian Wells this spring. “I know the place and the people, but we’ve got some fresh faces coming in and a brand new team. I’m really excited.”

As it turned out, last season was a blessing for a team looking to start from scratch.

“Last year’s season gave us the opportunity to have the first draft pick and we pretty much got everyone we wanted,” Gambill said, speaking on No. 1 Draft Picks, Eugenie Bouchard and Irina Falconi.

Bouchard is no stranger to Mylan WTT; the 2014 Wimbledon finalist made her debut in 2009, and helped to lead Texas Wild into the Finals Weekend in 2013, ending the Washington Kastles’ historic 34-match winning streak along the way.

“I’ve always had great experiences with Mylan World TeamTennis,” recalls Bouchard, who began 2015 with a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals. “I started when I was 15 and it gave me such good experience to play against good players and be on a team with good players as well. I think it helped my game.”

With Bouchard playing several dates in the middle of the season, Falconi wil be anchoring the team. Solid in singles and doubles, the American played for Boston at the beginning of her career (2011-2012) and turned heads by reaching the third round of this year’s the French Open -- continuing a steady rise up the rankings since last fall.

“I think all it takes is a really good team dynamic,” Falconi said about the key to up-ending the still-dominant Kastles. “Jan-Michael’s played on our team before, so he’s also going to have great insight, and I’m just really excited to see what happens when we put the team together.”

With Mylan WTT known for putting a spotlight to younger players, a season pass to Boston Lobsters matches will give local fans the opportunity to get to know up-and-coming American, Chase Buchanan. The 23 year old will also make his Mylan WTT debut with a strong college tennis background, which he believes will serve him and his teammates well come July.

“It’s going to be about energy, coming out and being ready right away,” the Ohio State All-American confessed. “In college that was probably the most important thing: quick starts, high energy, and intensity right off the bat.”

With Buchanan injured for the first six matches, compatriot Alex Kuznetsov will be substituting to start the season. Kuznetsov made his Mylan WTT debut in 2011 for the Kansas City Explorers, and entered the Top 100 in doubles after reaching the third round of the 2007 US Open.

Rounding out the Lobsters roster is doubles specialist Arantxa Parra Santonja and Scott Lipsky, the only returning member from last season. Lipsky was a substitute for Boston in 2014, where he earned a winning record in men’s doubles.

Lipsky first played Mylan WTT in 2006 (New York Buzz) and is the model of consistency, winning at least one ATP doubles title every year since 2008, most recently nabbing the trophy in Estoril with partner (and Mylan WTT alum) Treat Huey. With last year’s disappointments behind them, the American believes thatBoston has a genuine shot of up-ending the vaunted Kastles to capture the team’s very first championship title.

“It would be great to bring home the King Trophy. The Kastles have a tough team again this year. But I played them last year when I subbed, and we had a good match. If we play the way we can play, I think we have a good chance at beating them.”