JOHNNY STUMPF had a great week for Wakefield, winning all three of his matches against Wilmington, Melrose and Stoneham. (Katherine Cruise Photo)

Published in the May 21, 2018 edition.

By NOAH GREIF

WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield boys’ tennis team continued to impress, with two well-played matches under the lights of Dobbins Courts on Wednesday and Thursday. The Warriors fought hard against Melrose, an undefeated Freedom team, but ultimately lost 4-1. Wakefield recovered well the next day on senior night, defeating Stoneham 4-1.

At second doubles, Ryan McCormack and Joshua Cieniewicz were defeated by Melrose’s Ryan Locke and Jack Summersby, 2-6, 0-6. The first set was competitive, but the duo had trouble keeping it away from the player at the net. Also, Melrose was able to keep the ball on McCormack’s and Cieniewicz’s backhands, which proved to be their weaker shot.

Against Stoneham, senior co-captain Max South was back after a brief hiatus but he didn’t show any rust. South and Cieniewicz defeated the Spartans’ Colin Campbell and Marco Sanella, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. The Warriors proved to be the more consistent team, often grinding out points with many lobs until Stoneham made the unforced error.

Lucas Smith and Jack Palmer couldn’t get the win against Stoneham or Melrose, but played their best tennis of the season at times. Against Melrose, the pair lost to Sava Vlajkovic and Zack Zibatis, 3-6, 6-1, 2-6. The match lasted more than an hour and a half and drew a large crowd from both sides, giving it a primetime feel. Unforced errors proved to be the X-factor, as those decided the big points. Smith and Palmer were able to lob well, often setting each other up at the net. The Warrior duo played well against Stoneham in the first set, but couldn’t push past the Spartans in the second or third sets, losing 6-2, 4-6, 4-6. Smith and Palmer had some nice first serves that set each other up at the net, but once again, unforced errors proved to be the biggest factor.

At third singles, Johnny Stumpf continued his success with two big wins. The junior co-captain produced his biggest win of the year over Melrose’s Henry MacDonald, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Stumpf came back the next day even stronger, dominating Stoneham’s Matt Marchant, 6-1, 6-0.

“Johnny is very good at putting his opponents in awkward positions,” head coach Cheryl Connors remarked on Stumpf’s success. “He makes them move vertically around the court, when most players only want to move horizontally.”

Martin Timar faced a high level opponent in Melrose’s Jason Jang, losing 6-0, 6-1. The senior bounced back against Stoneham, defeating Luke Aronis, 6-2, 6-1. Timar credited his win to just playing his game, which meant taking advantage of weak shots, and coming in when needed. Timar’s serve was also a key factor in his win.

At first singles, Noah Greif played well against Melrose, but couldn’t come up with the win. The sophomore lost to Caleb Zimmerman 6-4, 6-3. Greif was able to dominate early in both sets, often hitting blazing passing shots when Zimmerman came in. He couldn’t finish off either set, with many games going to deuce. Against Stoneham, Greif’s patience was tested as he faced Alec Celli, who was able to consistently keep the ball in play. Regardless, Greif was able to fight back after losing the first set, and found success in bringing in his opponent with drop shots, and then driving the ball past Celli as he attempted to get back to the baseline. Greif won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, and picked up his 6th win of the year.

Wakefield will take on Winchester on Monday at Dobbins Courts.