Melrose (8-0) proving a Freedom League dynasty
Published in the May 18, 2018 edition
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider tennis team will be once again updating their athletic banner.
Melrose officially clinched their fifth straight Middlesex Freedom League championship after a 5-0 win over Watertown that improved them to a flawless 8-0 in the league.
Longtime Melrose coach Matt Williams is used to earning league titles for MHS, but even this one surprised him a bit. To some extent, this 2018 team has defied expectations. What could have been considered a “competitive” rebuilding year has instead turned into (at press time) an unbeaten 8-0 campaign.
“Yeah, they defied my expectations a bit,” Williams admits. “We lost a strong senior class after a fantastic season, but we saw some incredible leaders rise through the ranks, showing a lot of strength in singles and doubles. There have been a lot of matches that we won that surprised us.”
Chalk it up to good chemistry.
THE MELROSE Red Raider tennis team are five-time league champs and boast an undefeated 8-0 league record. (Donna Larsson photo)
That starts at the top, with returning vets Caleb Zimmerman and Jason Jang, both in the midst of strong seasons and both representing Melrose over the weekend at the MIAA State Individual Tournament, where Jang advanced in first round play. “Caleb and Jason are two players who overcome pressure and play to win,” says Williams.
Both Zimmerman and Jang took wins in first and second singles against Watertown, while newcomer Henry MacDonnell continues to impress his coach. “He took wins of 6-2 and 6-1 and remains a key ingredient to our success.”
Melrose’s reliable doubles pairs, Sava Vlajkovic and Zac Zibaitis, remain a formidable pair. On Monday, they took a win in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. In second singles, Jack Summersby and Ryan Locke fought a hard battle to victory in three sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. In previous competition, Melrose also swept Wilmington in a match that saw the pairs team of Eamonn Burke and Nick Koen take a first win.
It’s easy to see that Melrose boasts many weapons, and when they enter the postseason, they will hardly be starry-eyed. Battling tough Div. 2 North competition is an annual experience, but before playoffs begin there is still regular season matches to be played. Williams remains cautiously optimistic. He contends that anything can happen in the last two matches of the season. Melrose takes on Burlington and Wakefield on Wednesday and Thursday (post-deadline), and they’d like nothing more than a clean sweep of the Freedom League to finish 10-0.
“But we have no room for relaxing. We have to play at our best because I expect these two teams to be stronger during this part of the season. After that, we hope for another enjoyable playoff run where we put in our best effort, as we always do.”
