MARBLEHEAD — On a sunny Wednesday evening, the No. 9 Marblehead boys tennis team hosted No. 24 Oliver Ames in the Division 2 state tournament. The Magicians showed their firepower, defeating Oliver Ames 5-0 on their home courts.
“I’m really proud of them,” Marblehead coach Elisabeth Foukal said. “This was a tough team in Oliver Ames. They came in wanting to win just as much as we did.”
Marblehead got out to a quick 2-0 lead with Northeastern Conference MVP Mika Garber (first singles) and Jost Eggebrecht (second singles) leading the way.
Garber won his match 6-0, 6-0, while Eggebrecht took care of his opponent 6-0, 6-2.
“We have a foreign exchange student in Jost and he played very well today,” Foukal said.
Foukal was also full of praise for Garber – something Marblehead fans have heard before.
“We have one of the best players we have ever had in Mika Garber,” Foukal said.
Matthew Sherf started slow in the first set of third singles, but rallied back to win in straight sets 7-5, 6-1.
“One and two (singles) were pretty comfortable, and our third was tough, but Matthew Sherf came back from 3-5 to win 7-5 in the first set,” Foukal said. “That’s what Matthew does. That’s his MO. He’s terrific.”
When asked about her team’s keys to victory, Foukal pointed to the group’s chemistry and togetherness.
“This team has great chemistry,” Foukal said. “They support each other and it’s a long season, but they keep supporting each other.”
That chemistry showed on the court with both doubles teams picking up wins. Foukal, in particular, was proud of the performance from Jimmy King and Leo Winocour.
“I’m really proud of our second doubles team. They came through with a good win,” Foukal said. “We’ve been struggling in second doubles, so it was a good win for them.”
Simply put, the first doubles team showed off its cardio, playing a two-hour match that ended 6-7, 6-2, 11-9.
It was an endurance challenge that teammates Etan Farfel and Jayden Janock were up for. Despite being down 2-5 at one point in the tie-breaker, Farfel and Janock didn’t quit, winning six of the next seven games before closing the match with an 11-9 win.
The Magicians are young, poised, and now, on their way to the round of 16 where they’ll face Thursday’s winner of No. 25 Wakefield Memorial and No. 8 Belmont.
