Classical girls tennis bows out in tournament

LEXINGTON – The Lynn Classical girls tennis team?s season came to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon following a 5-0 loss to host Lexington. The sixth-seeded Minutewomen will take on No. 3 Peabody in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning (10:30).Despite the shutout, which saw the hosts prevail in each set behind team-wide pinpoint serving, coach Cathy Blake Ellis was pleased with her squad?s effort, not just in the loss, but throughout the entire spring. The No. 11 Rams finish with an overall record of 10-7 (9-6 in the Northeastern Conference). “I was very happy with the girls? efforts this season, they were outstanding,” lauded Ellis. “(We) lost all three singles players from the year before, but the kids stepped up and came a very long way.”At first doubles, the end result didn?t quite sum up the action in what proved to be the match of the day.Kavitha Pazahanisamy and Euge Fomitcheva defeated Classical?s Katrina Syrakos and Linda Khuth, 6-0, in a one-sided first set before a late rally from the visitors ultimately came up short in a 6-4 finale.Trailing 5-1, Syrakos and Khuth ripped off three straight games, the first of which ended at 4-2 when a Syrakos forehand grazed the top of the net, surprising the defenders. Khuth stepped up in the ensuing game, with some terrific net play, which led to two points and another 4-2 victory.After the visitors brought the score to within one in a dominant ninth game, Pazahanisamy and Fomitcheva jumped out to a 40-love lead before a service error gave the Rams? duo their final point.The Rams second tandem of Janelle Way and Shea Dunnigan also played well in a 3-6, 1-6 loss to Isabelle Bernhard and Laura Case. The latter duo finished the regular season with an impressive 11-2 record.?Both of our doubles teams have terrific chemistry and both had terrific seasons,” reflected Ellis. “Katrina, Linda and Janelle are all seniors and it will be hard to see them go but I?m extremely excited for the future and the progression our returnees will make.”Lexington?s day got off to a fast start thanks to UMass-Amherst-bound Michelle Katzelnik, who overwhelmed Kayla O?Brien on the way to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at first singles.The hosts? No. 1 attacked with a consistent and fluid transition from forehand to backhand all match long while keeping O?Brien on the move. Comfortably ahead 4-0 in set one, Katzelnik settled into a zone with a serve that wouldn?t produce a point-costing error in three consecutive games.At second singles, Natalie Ramesh defeated Anna Athanasopoulos, 6-0, 6-1. The victor is one of several freshmen who should keep the Minutewomen in state title contention for years to come.Much of Ramesh?s success was thanks to impressive footwork that set up for a powerful forehand that forced several long returns from Athanasopoulos, who managed to steal the opener in set No. 2. Ramesh succeeded in the service area as well, with a high-arcing toss that resulted in a number of aces. Reethy Sundar capped the singles sweep with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Meredith MacDonald.?They have a terrific tennis program here, which begins at a young age,” explained Ellis of her team?s tough first round draw. “They are a very good team coming out of a very good conference so we knew we would have our hands full today.”