Deerfield boys varsity tennis fell 6-1 to Groton in their first match of the season. Though the score was lopsided, the competition was anything but!
The Doors won the first match of the day at #2 doubles, with sophomore Tai Feng and freshman Gunter Weldon hitting big to defeat their solid opponents 8-4. Groton fought back at the #1 and #3 spots, however, to secure the doubles point for the Zebras.
Despite feeling positive and ready to battle heading into singles, Deerfield got off to a slow start on most courts, losing the first set at each position on the lineup except for #5 Anthony Sparacio. Sparacio’s big serving and groundstrokes- coupled with a variety of spins- proved too tough as he defeated his opponent in straight sets to give DA its first (and only) point of the match.
Despite their slow starts, courts #1-3 kept competing hard, and all three boys played great tennis to send their matches to deciding third-set supertiebreakers. With Groton having secured wins at #4 and #6, all three players needed to win their tiebreakers in order to clinch the match for DA- and give the team its first win over Groton in decades! The energy was high and teammates’ and spectators’ support were strong as the three courts entered into their tiebreakers.
The first player to start their tiebreaker was freshman Gunter Weldon, making his debut as a Door in the #2 spot. Gunter played aggressively to give himself a match point but ultimately fell 12-10 to a very seasoned senior. At #3, senior captain Tom Molson also fell in his tiebreaker as his opponent proved too steady. At the #1 spot, junior captain Ethan Li used penetrating groundstrokes and fearless offensive play to find himself with two matchpoints at 9-7. Credit to his talented opponent for hitting a clutch down-the-line backhand to save one of the match points and ultimately pull out another victory for the Zebras 12-10.
Junior newcomers Christian Capella and Tommy McMahon played both exhibition doubles and singles for the Doors and won all of their matches. Great start to competitive DA tennis, boys!
It was a very exciting match and a great sign of the season ahead. The team is fired up and ready to get back to work; after a few more days of practice, they’ll be back competing at home against Belmont Hill at 4pm on Wednesday, 4/3.
RESULTS
Doubles order of finish: 2,1,3
#1 Wight/M. Lu (G) def. Li/Molson (DA) 8-4
#2 Weldon/Feng (DA) def. Gura/Zhang (G) 8-4
#3 S. Lu/Ladha (G) def. Sparacio/Naughton (DA) 8-5
Exhibition: Cappella/McMahon (DA) def. Flatz/Stubbs (G) 8-5
Singles order of finish: 4,6,5,3,2,1
#1 Wight (G) def. Li (DA) 6-1, 4-6, 12-10
#2 Gura (G) def. Weldon (DA) 6-3, 4-6, 12-10
#3 M. Lu (G) def. Molson (DA) 6-2, 5-7, 10-4
#4 S. Lu (G) def. Feng (DA) 6-0, 6-1
#5 Sparacio (DA) def. Flatz (G) 6-4, 6-2
#6 Ladha (G) def. Naughton (DA) 6-4, 6-2
Exhibition: Capella (DA) def. Zhang (G) 6-3, 7-6(5); McMahon (DA) def. Kelleher (G) 7-6(4), 6-3