WINTHROP — Last year, the Maine Central Institute boys tennis team made its first regional final since 1995 on the backs of some of the best talent in program history.

This spring, with an overhauled roster and new players stepping into big roles, the Huskies again find themselves near the top of the heap in Class C.

“I didn’t expect to make it this far, but it’s pretty great,” said MCI junior Tyson Thompson.

“We didn’t know, going into the season, if (the regional final) was going to be in the cards,” MCI coach Kyle Holmstrom said. “But these guys are super coachable, smart, and work their tails off.”

The third-seeded Huskies secured a return to the Class C South final with a 4-1 win over No. 2 Winthrop on Wednesday afternoon at the Maxwell Complex.

MCI (11-3) will play Monday against No. 5 Waynflete (11-3), the 16-time defending state champion. The Flyers edged No. 1 seed Boothbay 3-2 in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Last season, the Huskies finished 11-5 and reached the regional final with a stacked senior class of Cole Allen, Hudson Holmstrom, Brady Rogers and Landon Ross. Every member of that group collected more than 30 career wins, ranking each among the top individual players in program history.

“We try to talk about standards. We have high standards if you want to be on the MCI tennis team,” Kyle Holmstrom said. “You’ve got to show up every day (to practice), you’ve got to work hard for two hours. You’ve got to move your feet. You’ve got to do all the little things that make a team a little bit special, as opposed to just a club sport.”

With that group gone, Kyle Holmstrom was forced to move young players to new spots. Harry Holmstrom, a junior who reached the state singles tournament last season, is the Huskies’ No. 1 singles player. Mateo Guallart, a boarding student from Spain, is the No. 2 singles player. Against Winthrop, both players showed a similar skillset: quick moves to the net, with an ability to deliver soft returns or hit smashes.

“Because we had so many people leave, we had a lot of people step up into new roles, and that’s sort of nerve-wracking,” Thompson said. “We had a lot of new people come on and we weren’t sure how they would do. But I think it turned out OK.”

Thompson, who was a doubles competitor in the past, rounds out MCI’s singles group at No. 3. The Huskies have two strong doubles teams in Spencer Maloney and Noah Ward (No. 1 doubles) and Ian Ardry and Stefan Belevic (No. 2 doubles).

“Our new doubles players adapted well,” Harry Holmstrom said. “I think three or four of our players weren’t in the starting lineup last year. A lot of the doubles players had to step up (this year).”

“We don’t have a group of pure athletes,” added Kyle Holmstrom. “We have to sell to (the players) that we have to move our feet. We have to play the percentages, and we have to hit thousands of balls every week. If you buy into that, you make up for not having the most athletic bunch. But we do it in many ways.”

The Huskies are no strangers to Waynflete, which defeated them 5-0 in last year’s regional final. Though MCI enters the match as the higher seed, it’s embracing the role of an underdog.

“I know last year, even though it looks like we lost pretty badly, we definitely had some competitive matches,” Thompson said. “No matter what, we’re going to try our best.”