Boys tennis begins new era with three wins
The Marblehead High boys tennis team, under the guidance of first-year coach Karl Tenenholtz, is off to a successful start with a 3-1 record. Seniors Adam Loughlin and T.J. Kelly, and juniors Ty Cooper and Alex Boehning are this year’s captains.
After dropping their first match of the year against non-league Andover, 3-2 at home on March 30, they were able to bounce back to defeat Northeastern Conference rival Masco by the exact same score on April 6. Non-league Bishop Fenwick followed the Chieftains to town two days later, only to lose to the Magicians, 4-1. They then closed out the homestand with a victory over Hamilton-Wenham, another non-league foe, 3-2 on April 10.
Cooper defeated Andover’s Sam Gomer in first singles, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 11-9. Kelly also came out on top in second singles after beating Kian Keyhan, 6-3, 7-5. But Boehning lost to Ryan Furlong in a competitive third singles match, 3-6, 2-6.
The first doubles team of junior Philip Wabno and Loughlin lost to Ricky Tran and Matt Wang, 6-3, 0-6, 3-6. Senior Cordt Menzler and junior Caleb Sidman were shut down in second doubles, 0-6, 0-6.
But the Magicians turned it all around against the Chieftains. Cooper defeated Kai Hird, 6-2, 6-0 to win his second straight first singles match. Kelly did the same, beating his second singles opponent Arjun Shreyakar 6-3, 6-0. Boehning, however, dropped a three-set heartbreaking tiebreaker to Parker Kurtz in third singles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-7 (5-7).
Getting the team back on track, Loughlin and Wabno took care of Akash Mruon and Kartnir Nargul in first doubles. 7-5, 7-5, which ultimately secured the overall victory. Menzler and Sidman fell to Airy Raymrud and Arhil Deshpanek in second doubles, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6.
The Marblehead boys then made it two in a row after dominating the Crusaders from Peabody. Cooper shutout Nolan Tapp in first singles, 6-0, 6-0. Kelly maintained the trend in second singles, beating Fenwick’s Will Rand 6-1, 6-0. Boehning completed the singles sweep, when he upended Robert Bender, 6-1, 6-1.
Loughlin and Wabno lost to Jamie Aguilar and Christopher Connors in first doubles, 5-7, 6-4, 5-10. But Menzler and Sidman bounced back to beat Stephen Rizzo and Gisueppe Lepor in second doubles, 6-4, 6-4.
The Magicians wrapped up the first full week of action on the courts with a win over the Generals.
Cooper persevered to top Rory Taylor in a highly challenging first singles match, 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. Boehning moved up to second singles to take care of Alex Boardman, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6). Loughlin took over the third spot, where he proceeded to beat Rowan McCoanauquery, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Wabno and Menzler survived their own three set match against Patrick Driscoll and William Gregory, 7-6, 4-6, 4-6. But Finn Bowen and Sidman lost to Jonas D’Arigo and Ryan Minnaar in second doubles, 2-6, 6-7 (3-7).
Girls tennis drops first two matches
The MHS girls tennis team started its season on the short end of the scoreboard, losing to Masco in a heartbreaker, 3-2, before falling to non-league Hamiliton-Wenham, 4-1.
The season opener on April 6 for both host Masco and Marblehead did not disappoint, according to coach Tracy Ackerman. “It was another highly competitive match between these two NEC powerhouses,” she said.
The Chieftains first singles player Ria Kundalya topped Samara Dosch, her counterpart on the Magicians, 6-2, 6-4.
Marblehead senior captains Joy Meshulam and Caroline Bruett picked up a point in first doubles for their teammates, 6-2, 6-1, before Ava Zarineh, Masco’s third singles player, beat Lilly O’Keefe, 6-1, 6-1. But second singles player Callie Gilmore was then able to tie up the match at two with a hard-fought 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
It all came down to second doubles that went Masco’s way in another close encounter. Sophie Li and Annie Tucker ended up dropping the match to Masco’s Ella Mussey and Cyra Anvari, 6-7, 1-6.
“I was very curious as a coach to see how this first match would play out,” said Ackerman. “But I was super impressed with Sami Dosch, who played a competitive match against Masco’s No. 1 player. Sami was returning from a knee injury, and so to see her on the court in this match was a bonus (for me). Callie Gilmore continues to improve her tennis skills and acumen to pick up a huge win for us against Masco, (while) Joy and Caroline played well together in first doubles, which should be a strength for us this year.”
Against the Generals on April 10, Dosch secured Marblehead’s lone point of the match, when she defeated Emily McIntosh in first singles, 6-4, 6-1.
“I knew our first few matches of the season would be very tough against some of the strongest teams around,” said Ackerman. “(But it was compounded, when we learned) that Erin Wilder had season-ending knee surgery (before the Hamilton-Wenham match), and another starter was not (there, forcing me) to tinker with the lineup. The majority of this team haven’t had (much experience) in varsity matches, but I know they will improve this season.”
Ackerman added that they will learn from these two losses, while also mentioning after the Hamilton-Wenham match, “Samara had a terrific win against a formidable opponent, and our first doubles team (Meshulam and Bruett) also played great with lots of deuce points and long rallies.”
Baseball Magicians all even after four
The baseball Magicians are 2-2 after splitting two more games last week. They lost to host Swampscott, 7-1 on April 8, but then defeated Peabody at home two days later, 15-5.
The Big Blue jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. The Magicians threatened to take the lead in the second, when they loaded the bases, but to no avail, which pretty much summed up this game.
“We had a couple of big opportunities to score, but just couldn’t get that big hit when we needed it, ” said coach Mike Giardi.
Against Peabody, it was a typical early season game. “(The play) on both sides was very ugly, as each team was still working out the rust,” said Giardi.
The Magicians were able to finally get the bats going in the fifth inning. They ended up with a total of 16 hits in the game, with junior shortstop Greyson Leventhal accounting for four of them that included two doubles.
Girls lacrosse loses two
The girls lacrosse team (1-3 overall, 0-2 in the NEC) lost to host Beverly, 18-2 on April 6. Addy Co-Peeps was the team’s leading scorer with one goal and one assist. Zoe Dwyer chipped in with the other tally.
“We need to reset after this game,” said coach Annie Madden. “It’s time to focus on Swampscott.”
While the Marblehead offense picked up considerably two days later against the Big Blue, the results remained the same. The game was played in front of the home fans at Piper Field, but the visitors never lost control of the lead, winning the game, 15-9. The Magicians trailed by just one at halftime, 6-5.
Sammy Walker (1 goal), Avery Wysor (1 goal, 2 groundballs) and Sydney Moniz (1 goal, 1 caused turnover), Co-Peeps (2 goals, 1 assist) and Dwyer (4 goals 1 assist) contributed to the Marblehead offense against their longtime rivals. Goalie Molly Bullard made five saves to help keep her teammates close on the scoreboard.
“It was a fast-paced game, as our (confidence) continues to build up,” said Madden. “Every day we are getting better, and (at the same time) learning how to capitalize on our opportunities.”
Laxmen defeat Beverly, Swampscott to even record
The boys lacrosse team is 2-2 after winning two last week against Beverly, 10-6 on April 7, and Swampscott, 6-5. Sandwiched between those victories was a close loss to visiting Newburyport, 10-8 on April 9.
In the win against Beverly, Reid Weysor led the way on offense with three goals and two assists. Captain Owen Dulac was credited with two and two. Bailey Finkle scored twice to go along with one assist. Landon Dosch chipped in with one score and two assists. Tyler Forbes and Kyle Thibodeau each scored once. Freshman Alex Herman and sophomore Will Kinahan had one assist apiece.
Goalie Colin Maniaci, a senior captain, came up with 12 saves to help preserve the victory.
It was an evenly played game against the Clippers, who led at halftime, 5-4. Each side scored the same number of goals in the second half that resulted in a close loss by the home team.
Thibodeau and Forbes paced the offensive attack with three goals and one assist apiece. Dosch collected one and one. Dulac netted one marker. Weysor set up two scores, and Kinahan had one. Maniaci made 10 saves to keep things close.
But the Magicians then bounced back to beat the Big Blue in another close matchup. “It’s always tough playing (Swampscott),” said coach John Wilkens, “and coupled that with playing three games in four days made it even tougher. Near the end of that game, we just gutted out the win.”
Thibodeau, a midfielder, was the scoring leader with two goals. Kinahan was credited with one goal and one assist. Captain Grady Becker, Forbes and Finkle notched the other three goals. Maniaci once again did his part to secure a win with 10 more saves between the pipes.
Besides Becker, Maniaci and Dulac, John Schieffer rounds out the senior leadership on the team among the captains. There are nine seniors altogether on the roster, including three newcomers to the program – but not to MHS sports – and they include Rylan Golden, J.J. Downey and Miles Fontela-Tuttle.
Gold’s crew foiled by nemesis Peabody
After winning its first two games, coach Johnny Gold’s softball team dominated visiting Swampscott last week on April 8, 12-0. But longtime Division 1 nemesis Peabody then snapped their three-game winning streak by the narrowest of margins, 4-2 in Tanner country on April 10.
