The Lynnfield High School girls tennis team has a rich history of proven success. Other than the first two years of its existence in 1982 and 1983, the Pioneers have posted winning records for 40 consecutive years. With 18 Cape Ann League titles, a boatload of individual honors and awards and five state championships in the books, a person would be hard pressed to challenge any claims that the program’s success is truly second to none.
Most players who have played on the team had their start as elementary school students taking lessons from and attending camps conducted by legendary coach Craig Stone – the only coach the program has ever had. His success is unmatched, coaching the Pioneers to 653 victories and 40 consecutive tournament appearances in his 42 years at the helm.
While it’s easy to remember the victories, sometimes it’s the losses that ultimately define the winners.
Take the Pioneers’ 4-1 loss to archrival Manchester-Essex in the semifinals of the state Division 4 tournament. The Pioneers were on the ropes, trailing 2-0, just one point away from elimination. Senior captain Genna Gioioso was already down a set in her second singles match and trailed 4-5 in the second set. Simply put, the Pioneers’ season was on the line – and on Gioioso’s shoulders.
After Hornets’ senior Calista Lai cruised to a 6-0 win in the first set, things looked bleak for the Pioneers, but Gioioso dug deep and refused to roll over. Seven times in that 10th game, the match went to deuce. Gioioso faced four set and match points but survived every one to finally win the game after Gioioso served to Lai’s backhand, forcing a long return that tied things up, 5-5.
A few minutes later, Paige Martino closed out a comeback win at first singles to narrow the Pioneer’s deficit to 2-1. Gioioso went on to win the set 7-5, forcing a third set (won by Lai in a super tiebreaker, 10-6), but any hopes of a Cinderella-like finish were dashed after the Hornets clinched the match with a win at first doubles.
Gioioso, the senior class Student Council president, will be attending the College of the Holy Cross next year. Despite finishing the season with a loss, she ended her career with 37 wins in three years of varsity play. No doubt, that number would have been a lot higher had the 2020 season not been canceled because of the pandemic.
A member of the Lynnfield High School Tennis Hall of Fame as one of the top-50 record holders in the history of the girls tennis program, Gioioso credits much of her success to Stone.
“I’ve known Coach Stone since I was six. I can’t say enough about him, he’s the best,”Gioioso said. “He has totally made my entire tennis career and has made me the player and person I am today. So I could not be more grateful to him.”
Gioioso says the future is bright for the Pioneers.
“They are going to have a very good team next year,” Gioioso said. “I think this year was a build-up for us as we lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team. This is the farthest I’ve ever made it in my career. I am so impressed with my team and am so grateful to have been able to play with my teammates these last three years.”
Stone said Gioioso will be dearly missed next year.
“That’s quite a loss as Genna typifies the type of player we want both on and off the court,” Stone said. “When you coach, you’re hoping that what’s going on on the court transpires to off the court. You are just hoping that you are helping them with life’s lessons. I was able to watch Genna mature as a player and as a person. She started taking lessons from me when she was in elementary school. In middle school she became the only girl in an otherwise all-boy group. She’s still taking lessons on the court. She really got fired up about it and started doing stuff on her own in terms of instruction and competitive experience outside of the season and you can see her growth.”
Gioioso started her varsity career as a sophomore in the 2021 season at second doubles. Stone said she had a losing record. As a junior, she moved up to third singles and posted a winning record and won the team’s Most Improved Award. Stone said her leadership, competitive nature and respect she shows to fellow teammates as well as opponents is off the charts.
“And now, she’s at second singles which is a highly competitive position as you can see with the players we have up there,” Stone said. “I think she finishes this year 14-7 and she has an over 4.0 GPA. She’s president of the student council and she’s going to Holy Cross. Everything you could ask as a parent is right there with Genna. I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to coach her.”
Gioioso said this year’s team was all about friendship.
“I love my teammates and they are some of my best friends and have been so grateful for the lighthearted energy we had this season,” she said. “You could see from just watching that we were always gathering together to cheer each other on whether we’re winning or losing, we are there for each other.”
