ITEM PHOTO: OWEN O’ROURKE
St. Mary’s doubles player Tyler Devine teamed up with Jimoh George to win first doubles, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1, against Triton in the first round of the Division 3 North tournament on Thursday.
By LILY DOOLIN
The St. Mary’s boys tennis team prevailed over Triton in the first round of the Division 3 North state tournament with a 4-1 victory.
Winners for the Spartans were first singles Brady Ryan (6-1, 6-0), second singles Matt McManus (6-2, 6-0), and third singles Conor Foley. First doubles Jimoh George and Tyler Devine also won their match, the scores 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1.
The victory marks the Spartans’ first tournament win as a team. Coach Brian Carlson and his team were excited to get rid of their first-game jitters and advance to the next round.
“We’re hoping to keep the momentum going,” said Carlson.
They’ll look to continue their winning way against No. 5 Manchester Essex, Monday at 3:30 at Lynn English’s courts.
Marblehead 5, Classical 0
The Magicians swept Classical in the first round of the D2 North tournament.
Marblehead junior captain Justin Faia played a terrific match against Classical junior Calvin Cheung, winning 7-6 (12-10 tiebreaker), 6-3.
“Justin faced two different playing styles in the two sets,” said Marblehead coach Elisabeth Foukal. “In the first set, Calvin played conservatively, just keeping the ball in play and waiting for Justin to commit to coming to the net and then trying to pass him. In the second set, Calvin was much more offensive with his play, but Justin adjusted well and took control of the net and the second set.”
Junior captain Felix Litvak topped Mehdi Bakhouch, 6-0, 6-2, in second singles.
In third singles, freshman Billy Ackerman battled against Moses Ba. Ackerman eked out a win in the first set, 7-5, and showed physical and mental toughness to win the second set, 6-2.
First doubles freshmen Dan Litvak and David Grenader topped seniors Patrick Gibb and Simon Kazimierczyk in first doubles. Foukal said the two “came off the block on fire” and played two near-flawless sets.
Second doubles Sam Orenstein and Garrett Tully fell behind, 1-2, in the first set against Gerry Ennis and Alex Chea, but won 11 straight games to take the match, 6-2, 6-0.
The Rams, despite a “disheartening loss,” were glad to have made it this far into the tournament and proud of their season as a whole.
“The kids worked hard all year, improving their skills over the summer too,” said coach Chris Hayward. “We had a great season.”
Winthrop 3, Swampscott 2
The No. 7-seed Winthrop squeezed out the win in a close match against No. 10-seed Swampscott in the Division 3 North quarterfinal.
The Big Blue were without first singles player Matt Jacobs due to injury, which made for a hard adjustment for their players. Swampscott also struggled during the doubles matches.
Winners for Swampscott were second singles Daniel Popovskiy (6-4, 6-3) and third singles Will Talebian (6-1, 6-4).
Melrose 5, Danvers 0
The No. 13 Falcons were swept on the road by the No.-4 seed.
Newton South 5, St. John’s Prep 0
The Eagles were upset by the No. 9-seed at home in the Division 1 North tournament.
Reading 5, Gloucester 0
The Fishermen were bounced out of the tournament by the No. 3-seed in the Division 2 tournament.
GIRLS
Notre Dame (T) 4, Swampscott 1
At Tyngsborough,the first doubles team of Asja Zimmerman–Sara Cunningham won its match, 6-4, 6-1, for the only Big Blue (10-10) victory.
“They played a great match for the end of the season,” said Swampscott coach Nina Rogers. “Sara’s a senior and has played doubles for four years. Her knowledge of doubles is far beyond most of the girls I’ve seen play.”
Rogers lauded Zimmerman, a junior, as well.
“Asja really came on strong,” she said. “It really pleased me, the way they both played.”
