Girls’ tennis drops Bishop Fenwick in tourney opener

Published in the June 6, 2018 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The girls’ tennis team began its quest to win a fifth straight Division 3 North sectional championship with an impressive victory.

The sixth seeded Pioneers (14-5) defeated 11th seed Bishop Fenwick 4-1 in the first round of the Division 3 North state tournament on June 3.

“Whenever you play somebody for the third time, you have to throw all of the odds up in the air,” said Pioneers head coach Craig Stone. “The players know each other. You have to adapt and be mentally tougher. There are a lot of variables even though we have beaten them two times, 4-1 and 3-2. I knew there were going to be competitive matches.”

Freshman Megan Nevils lost her first singles match to senior Kelly Kircher in two sets. After losing the first set 5-7, Nevils was forced to retire in the second set due to suffering from tendinitis in her wrist. Stone said Nevils injured her wrist during a joint practice held with the boys’ tennis team.

“Rather than taking the chance of Megan injuring her wrist even further, I had her retire,” said Stone. “She was in the match. We held her out of the North Andover match to get ready for this match.”

Captain Alexa Vittiglio defeated sophomore Brenna Walding in two sets, 6-2, 6-4, during second singles

“Alexa has played (Walding) twice and it went to three sets both times,” said Stone. “She left practice on Friday very determined not to repeat that three-set marathon. She played much more aggressively and opened up the court. She had some nice drop shots and was able to come up with a two-set win.”

Senior Bela Ferreira defeated sophomore Anna Young in straight sets during third singles, prevailing 6-0, 6-0.

“Bela is just a mechanic out there,” said Stone. “Nothing fazes her. When the point is over, she just puts the next one in play and goes again. To beat Bela, you have to have some offensive prowess. You just can’t keep the ball in play because she can do that forever. She plays good defense and is a good retriever, and can open up the court a little bit with her ground strokes as well.”

The second doubles tandem of sophomores Celeste Joly and Claire Yang defeated sophomore Maria O’Donnell and junior Sarah Blessington in two sets, 6-1, 6-2.

“Celeste and Claire are more and more becoming a compatible team,” said Stone. “Because of rotating people around and a couple of injuries we have had, they have only been able to play together eight times. They are solid and compliment each other nicely. They know what they need to do to win.”

The first doubles team featuring sophomore Gillian Skelley and freshman Emma Gallucci dismantled senior Abby Graumann and junior Niamh Walsh in two sets, 6-3, 6-2.

“I played them last because I have a tremendous amount of confidence in them,” said Stone. “They have played some real competitive matches against some solid teams. If it came down to 2-2, that is the team I want to have on the court. They are real solid and compliment each other.”

Stone was pleased the Pioneers opened the Division 3 North state tournament with a decisive victory.

“I figured we had the edge in the doubles and needed to win one of the singles matches,” said Stone. “We picked up two out of three singles matches, which was nice.”

Fall to Austin Prep

The Pioneers began last week falling 3-2 to Austin Prep on May 28.

Nevils lost her first singles match in three sets. After winning the first set 6-3, Nevils lost the second set 6-7 and fell 8-10 during the third set.

Vittiglio lost her second singles match in two sets, 0-6, 2-6.

Gallucci secured a two-set victory during third singles, prevailing 6-0, 6-4.

Ferreira and senior captain Makayla Maffeo lost their first doubles match in two sets, 4-6, 2-6.

Joly and Yang won their second doubles match in two sets, 6-3, 6-2.

“We had some chances but could not convert,” said Stone. “Austin Prep, the perennial Catholic Conference champs, played extremely well and deserved the win.”

Dethrone Knights

The Pioneers concluded the regular season defeating North Andover 4-1 on May 31.

Vittiglio started at first singles and came out on top in two sets, 6-1, 6-3.

Gallucci won her second singles match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0.

Yang earned a decisive victory during her debut at third singles, prevailing 6-2, 6-1.

Skelley and Joly lost their first doubles match in three sets. After prevailing 6-2 during the first set, Skelley and Joly fell 6-7 during the second set and 9-11 during the third set.

The second doubles tandem of Ferreira and Maffeo won their match in three sets. They won the first set 6-3, lost the second set 1-6 and prevailed 6-2 during the third set.

Stone praised the Pioneers’ performance against the Scarlet Knights.

“No way at the beginning of the season, after graduating seven of our top eight eight players, would I have thought we could finish at 14-4 this season,” said Stone. “I give all the credit to the players. The work they did in the offseason, the improvement made during the season, and their ‘TEAM’ (Together Each Achieves More) attitude.”