The Marblehead High girls tennis team (11-1 in the Northeastern Conference, 12-4 overall) began a brand new week with a shutout against Peabody, 5-0, on May 15.
“Though we won 5-0, the Peabody players show positive signs of growing into a strong program,” said coach Tracy Ackerman. “Their number of participants have increased since last year. It is impressive to see the growth of the players from one year to the next.”
Ackerman added, “But we have a very challenging remainder of our own season, with matches against Masco, and two non-league (encounters) against Lynnfield and Hamilton-Wenham, which should prepare us for the upcoming state tournament.”
First singles player Pauline Geissler defeated her Peabody counterpart, 6-0, 6-1. Andrea Potvin prevailed in second singles, 6-4, 6-4. Charly Cooper shut down her third singles opponent, 6-0, 6-0.
The first doubles team of Courtney Yoder and Aviva Bornstein won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Aoife Bresnahan and Lucia Levin completed the sweep in second doubles, 6-2, 6-1.
Two days later, the Marblehead girls took on state powerhouse and NEC rival Masco, and the Chieftains ended up rolling over the home team to the tune of 5-0.
“Masco showed why they are the defending state champions,” said Ackerman. “Their singles players plowed through Marblehead without dropping a single game.”
The veteran Marblehead coach added, “Hats off to Masco. They still have very talented players, all of whom have returned from last year. We wish them the best of luck in defending the state title. Their girls displayed tremendous sportsmanship. There’s always great camaraderie between the two teams, and my team had some takeaways from this match, which will hopefully serve us well in the postseason.”
Geissler, Potvin and Cooper all lost their singles matches by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores. Yoder and Bornstein played a competitive first doubles match before losing, 2-6, 3-6.
“Courtney and Aviva got their Masco counterparts off balance by playing different formations that we have been practicing,” said Ackerman.
Bresnahan and Levin then lost to a super strong Masco team in second doubles, 1-6, 1-6.
The Magicians defeated Salem, 5-0, on May 20 to close out the week and is set to wrap up the regular season against Lynnfield (May 22) and Hamilton-Wenham (May 23). The postseason gets underway next week.
Joe McConnell
