The Marblehead High boys tennis team (11-0 in the Northeastern Conference, 14-1 overall) has won 12 straight matches. The last time they lost was way back on April 11 against non-league Manchester Essex by the closest of margins, 3-2.
With all of this winning, these Magicians are seeded eighth, according to the May 16 Division 2 power rankings. The latest Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association poll takes into account their last three matches against Winthrop, Salem and non-league Malden Catholic, all by decisive 5-0 scores. There are 52 teams statewide in Division 2.
Against Malden Catholic, the team’s most recent match on May 15, the Marblehead boys were able to beat not only the host Lancers, but also the setting sun. They secured their final point at 7:20 p.m.
With only four courts to play on, the senior second doubles team of Quinn Fletcher and Graydon Waller had to wait until a court opened up to start their marathon match. As fate would have it, they had to come-from-behind right away in the first set to force a tiebreaker, which MC won, 9-7.
But the Marblehead tandem fought back to win the second set, 7-5. It set the stage for a 10-point super tiebreaker, with the visitors prevailing, 10-8 to secure the overall team shutout. They ended up defeating Drew Ryan and Daniil Orbitz, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5, 10-8.
The Magicians also scored some good wins in the singles matches. Junior T.J. Kelly played flawlessly in first singles with aggressive groundstrokes and delicate drop shots, according to coach Elisabeth Foukal. As a result, Kelly was able to win in straight sets over junior Jack Burgess, 6-2, 6-3.
Austin Bacon then stepped up to play second singles to produce a solid win against Lucas Wang, 6-0, 6-1.
Leo Winocour made his 2025 singles debut a successful one, beating Tyler Walsh in third singles, 6-1, 6-3. “(Winocour) had solid serves and quality groundstrokes to come out on top,” said Foukal.
Senior tri-captain Matthew Sherf, playing doubles for the first time, teamed up with sophomore Alex Boehning to defeat Matteo Peledge and Jordan Chan in first doubles, 6-0, 6-2.
The Magicians welcomed Salem to Seaside Park on May 14. The best match on this day was turned in by Fletcher, when he beat Eden McClain in third singles, 6-3, 6-4.
“Quinn, making his 2025 varsity singles debut, won the first set with just one break of serve,” said Foukal. “Quinn and Eden were then neck and neck throughout the second set, before Quinn was able to get that critical break of serve to go up 5-4. He followed it up with two aces in the last game to secure the quality win.”
Rounding out the Salem results, Kelly beat Ruland Workman in first singles, 6-1, 6-0. Quinn Sullivan experienced similar results against Finn Hanger in second singles, 6-1, 6-0.
Senior Nico Altonian and Boehning shutdown Mark Qualkenbush and Immanuel Romero in first doubles, 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Filip Wabno and Waller closed out this match with a second doubles win over Wyn Stevick and Kevin Smith, 6-1, 6-0.
In sub-varsity action, sophomores Chafik Khelladi and Luke Guevara won, 6-2.
The Marblehead boys opened up last week at home against Winthrop on May 13, and proceeded to wipe out the Vikings, 5-0.
Kelly beat Jackson Faber in first singles, 6-1, 6-0. Bacon did likewise to Joe Disney in second singles, 6-1, 6-0. Boehning took care of Tate Montgomery in third singles, 6-0, 6-1.
Junior Adam Loughlin and Winocour blanked Sebastian Echeverri and Jimmy Delaney in first doubles, 6-0, 6-0. Fletcher and Wabno maintained the trend against Samuel Orozco and Julian Roudrot in second doubles, 6-0, 6-0.
