MIAA girls tennis: All three Lynn teams ready to go

Lynn isn’t traditionally known as a hotbed for tennis, but this spring all three Lynn girls high school teams – Classical, English and St. Mary’s – are gearing up for what they hope will be a nice run in the state tournament.Click here for a photo gallery.The Classical girls team is coming off its best season ever. The Rams will play Melrose Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in a Division 2 North first-round match at the new courts behind English (the Breed courts aren’t suitable for tournament play).Classical qualified for the state tournament last year with a 10-8 record. This year, the Rams kicked it up a notch, finishing at 13-3 to take the No. 4 seed. Their 10-0 record in the Northeastern Conference earned Classical a championship.First-year coach Cathy Blake Ellis said the key to this year’s success has been experience. Ellis said the team set three goals – win the conference, qualify for the tournament and get past the first game in the tournament. The first two are in the bag. No. 3 is up next.Look for Saska Icitovic to play first singles, Amy O’Brien, second singles, and Amanda Pearson, third singles. In doubles, Sheba Neak and Stella Athanasopoulos are No. 1 and Ashley Ellis-Wendy Matanganyidze at No. 2. Tara Gunderman and Christine Francois have also played some tough matches at second doubles.Several other local teams will be looking to make some noise in Division 2 including No. 2 seed Marblehead, which plays Beverly Friday at 5 p.m. in a first-round game at Marblehead.Swampscott, the No. 6 seed, plays Cambridge Rindge and Latin Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Swampscott and Danvers will play Burlington Friday at 5 at Burlington.The English girls will try to extend their best season in years. The Bulldogs (7-5) are seeded 14th. They’ll play Chelmsford at Chelmsford Friday at 3:30 p.m.Like Ellis, English coach Lauren Mezzetti said added experience has been the difference. Many of her players are in their third year.”The (new) courts helped, but also they’ve played more,” she said. “They’re in their third year now. I don’t really have to teach them the basics. You teach skills the first two years. This year they worked on strategy. The more they play, the better they get.”The Bulldogs have relied on Scarlett Santana at first singles (she worked her way up from third and second singles during the season). Thanh Bui is at second singles, and Daniella Krische at third singles. Also in Division 1 North, Peabody, the No. 12 seed, will play Lincoln-Sudbury Saturday (3:30) at Lincoln-Sudbury.In Division 3, Bishop Fenwick checked in as the No. 1 seed with a 13-1 record. The Crusaders will play the winner of Lowell Catholic/Hamilton-Wenham Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Fenwick.”Clearly this is the best team I’ve had in seven years,” Fenwick coach Dave Manalaysay said. “I give all the credit to them (the players). They’ve worked hard.”Fenwick has gotten the job done with freshman Megan McCarthy at first singles (12-0), Emily Dunham at second singles and Meredith Maguire at third singles, Jess Griffin and Demi Velonis have ruled at first doubles and Sarah Green and Sara Kanarkiewicz at second doubles.The St. Mary’s girls, the No. 5 seed in Division 3, will play Weston at home Saturday (3:30). The Spartans played and lost to Weston last year in the tournament.Coach John Wynne will be counting on an experienced group of players, some of whom he has had since they started at St. Mary’s in the seventh grade. Megan Fitzgerald will be at No. 1 singles; Lauren Carifio at No. 2 and Corina Pinto at three. The doubles teams feature Kelsey Barrasso and Emily Hatchouel at No. 1 and Nicole Ferrari and Kat Troisi at two. Patti-Ann Doucette has also played a big role in doubles.Lynnfield, also playing in Division 3, will face Everett Saturday at home (3:30). Last year, the Pioneers lost to Weston, the eventual state champ. Coach Craig Stone doesn’t know much about his opponent (Pope John Saturday at 3:30 at home), but he’s confident a tough regular-season schedule, whi