As the 14th seed in the Division 2 power rankings, the Marblehead High girls tennis team (12-6) took on Nauset Regional (8-9), the 19th seed, at home in the Round of 32 on May 26, and ended up defeating the Warriors, 4-1.
Since the win, these Magicians have had plenty of time to rest up and practice before taking on host Duxbury (17-2), the third seed, on Wednesday, June 3, in the Sweet 16 at 4 p.m. The Clippers shutout the Foxboro Warriors (11-8), the 30th seed, 5-0 in their Round of 32 matchup on May 29. The Warriors made it to the Round of 32 after beating Minnechaug Regional (10-9), the 35th seed, in the preliminary round, 4-1 on May 27. A total of 39 teams made the postseason from this division.
The Magicians won all four of their individual matches against Nauset in straight sets. “Second doubles got us off to a fast start, with Harper Mooney and Lilly O’Keefe winning it, 6-1, 6-2,” said Coach Tracy Ackerman.
Samara Dosch won her first singles match, 6-2, 6-0, while the first doubles team of senior captains Joy Meshulam and Caroline Bruett secured the overall victory for their teammates after their 6-4, 6-1 triumph. The Marblehead tandem was recently chosen to the Northeastern Conference All-Conference team.
With the tournament opener already in hand, freshman Sophie Li also came through with a victory in third singles, 4-6, 6-4 (11-9).
Second singles player Callie Gilmore, however, suffered the team’s lone loss to Nauset’s eighth grade superstar, according to Ackerman, 1-6, 3-6.
“This was as good of a high school tennis match as it gets,” said Ackerman afterwards, while adding, “all season long I have been emphasizing to the girls the importance of securing a home match in the first round of the playoffs, and today our fans did not disappoint. We had tons of fans show up, including some alumni, which I think really rubbed off on the team. They were full of positive energy. Each and every player played some great tennis, and I’m excited to see what else we can do as the tournament goes on.”
