CAMBRIDGE — As Lynnfield Coach Joe Dunn walked off MIT’s duPont Tennis Courts Sunday afternoon, he wasn’t hanging his head after a 3-2 loss to top-ranked Manchester-Essex in the Division 4 state title match.
Not by a long shot.
“I’m a little sad with the guys, but very proud,” said Dunn, whose No. 2 Pioneers fell to the same Hornets, by the same score, in last season’s title match. “I think everyone stepped up to the plate. We were one set too short and I’m proud.”
Truth be told, you could say the odds were against Lynnfield, which graduated six key players last spring.
“Every year, there’s a new group that gets excited to play,” Dunn said. “We’re really happy with that.”
Dunn was also happy with his first singles star, Shea McCarthy, who defeated Jack Cummins (6-0, 6-0) to put the Pioneers on the board. (They trailed, 2-0, before McCarthy’s point.)
With raw emotion behind seemingly every play, McCarthy – Cape Ann League MVP in the Kinney Division – led by example on the biggest stage.
“Shea’s unbelievable. He always picks up the team,” Dunn said. “Always top dog.”
When asked about his performance, Methodist University-bound McCarthy said he felt good.
“I was moving him around and hitting all the shots I needed to hit,” said McCarthy, who took down Cummins, 7-5, 6-3, in the regular season. “He was playing pretty well, but today, I took it away.”
Just like that, McCarthy’s standout career came to a close. He’s a four-time Cape Ann League All-Star and won the Coaches’ Award last spring.
“I enjoy my teammates and I enjoy playing the game,” he said. “It was bittersweet. It’s kind of sad leaving high school tennis, but I’m looking forward to playing in college, too.”
Lynnfield’s other point came at first doubles, courtesy of Raffi Arkun and Matt Reinold, who was moved over from singles.
“I was really impressed with how our doubles teams played their matchups. We had Raffi and Matt, who have played half of their matches together, but the other half, Matt was playing singles. So, we decided it’s such a great combination,” Dunn said. “I guess it paid off.”
Shlok Kudrimoti and Brady Trippe were taken down in second and third singles, respectively.
Lynnfield’s second doubles team of Andee Shieh and Emile Coumans came close, but fell short (3-6, 6-4, 2-6) to seal it for Manchester-Essex.
“They did not disappoint at all,” Dunn said. “They brought it to three sets and were as close as they could possibly get.”
The Pioneers checked out with a record of 17-4 and tournament wins against No. 31 Springfield International Charter, No. 18 Nantucket, No. 7 Mystic Valley Regional Charter, and No. 6 Sturgis Charter West.
