LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield’s boys tennis team ran its winning streak to seven with a dominant 5-0 win against visiting Pentucket (2-3) Wednesday afternoon to remain undefeated at 7-0 (4-0 Cape Ann League).
However, it was far from easy. Both teams battled cold temperatures and blustery wind gusts from start to finish, which wreaked havoc on ball tosses.
Senior captain Shea McCarthy said winning the wind battle was just a matter of patience and adjustment to normal routines.
“It was so windy and we both had trouble with ball tosses,” McCarthy said. “I just tried to wait for the wind to die down. That’s about all you can do, but sometimes, if it’s too much, you just have to toss it with the wind. Going into today, we have had to battle the wind a lot, so I think everyone managed to find a way to cope effectively with it today.”
Sophomore Brady Trippe staked the Pioneers to a 1-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win at third singles. Sophomores Ritvik Mahajan and Rishabh Anand followed with a 6-2, 6-2 win at second doubles. Senior Matt Reinold, filling in for senior captain Shlok Kuudrimoti, who was away on a college visit, secured the match-winning point with a 6-4, 6-3 second singles win.
“Matt is also a soccer player who is never going to give up on a point,” said Lynnfield Coach Joe Dunn. “He’s played third singles, but today was his first time at second singles. He and Shlok have different hitting styles, but they both move the ball around and play long points. You saw that today from Matt.”
Senior captain Raffi Arkun and sophomore Rowan Bayer prevailed, 6-3, 6-4, in the first doubles match to bump the Pioneers’ lead to 4-0.
The longest match of the day was McCarthy’s first-singles match, which took close to two-and-a-half hours before McCarthy closed out the slugfest, 6-3, 6-3, with a beautiful backhand passing shot down the line. He said he was pleased with his service game.
“I don’t usually use a lot of passing shots,” McCarthy said. “I hit them when I can, but usually, my focus is to keep the ball in play. I don’t want to waste a point going for an extreme shot. It was a long and very deliberate match, so I feel like I won the match by maintaining my mental attitude and by a positive mindset.
“And I got most of my first serves in. I was using a new racket, which is a little heavier in the handle as opposed to in the head. I also felt really consistent at the net trying to close out the match. Overheads were a little shaky, but aside from that, I felt my game was smooth and steady.”
McCarthy, who is playing in the first-singles position for the first time, said he’s enjoying it.
“It’s really fun playing against my friends I play with in the offseason,” he said. ” I believe that when I’m having fun, I play my best, so it’s been great so far this year – having a new challenge. As a team, we are all working well together, so I think we are all having fun.”
Dunn agreed that the season is off to a good start.
“I’m really proud of the kids. They are staying focused and are playing just one match at a time,” he said. “We’re not worried about our opponents and are focusing only on what we need to do and letting our opponents worry about us. It’s been a fun season so far for all of us.”
Dunn also said he was happy with the way footwork enabled his players to combat the wind.
“I liked the footwork of all the kids today,” he said. “They are moving well.”
The Pioneers have a two-week layoff before they return to action on April 30 for a league match against new CAL member Mystic Valley Regional Charter School. That one begins at 3:30 p.m.
Dunn said that while his team will not officially practice during the April vacation break, he knows what he wants them to do in order to stay sharp.
“I know what I want them to do and they know what they need to do,” Dunn said. “I told them, ‘If you fail to prepare, then you prepare to fail.’ They’ll do fitness so they don’t even need to get on the courts – 30 to 60 minutes of all court- and tennis-related activities. All they need is a racket. They’ll do sprints, jump rope, plank, crossover shuffle, all that fun stuff for flexibility, strength and speed, but ultimately, it’s all up to the kids.”
