Boys varsity tennis fell to Andover 7-0 at home on Saturday, 4/20. Lots of families turned out for the match; it was wonderful to have everyone there cheering, but despite their un-waivering support, Andover was too tough across the board.
Doubles started in the Pavilion as the team waited for the outdoor courts to finish drying after some morning rain. All three courts showcased powerful serving and groundstrokes, but the match of the day goes to #3 Tai Feng and Walker Naughton, who battled back from 3-6 to tie up their pro-set 6-6. Andover was able to hold serve for a 7-6 lead, and ultimately broke the DA pair to clinch the match and secure the doubles point. The exhibition team of Christian Capella and Blix Salz gave the Doors their lone doubles win of the day, however, winning their match 8-1.
Singles then headed outdoors and Andover was able to take the first set on courts 2-6. Everyone battled hard and tried to problem-solve, but Andover’s consistency was ultimately too strong. As matches 2-6 finished up in straight sets, #1 Ethan Li had just lost his hard-fought first set 6-4. All eyes were on the junior captain as he tried to fight his way into a third set super-breaker, but his opponent made so few errors and took the second set 6-1.
Two out of three exhibition singles matches were victorious for DA, however. Senior Blix Salz and junior Ryan Diffley both handily beat their opponents, showcasing the team’s amazing depth.
It’s back to the practice court for the team as they prepare to take on Northfield Mount Hermon at home on Wednesday, 4/24 at 3pm.
Results
Doubles order of finish: 2,3,1
#1. Burke/Shin (A) def. Li/Molson (DA) 8-3
#2. Shen/Pletka (A) def. Weldon/Sparacio (DA) 8-2
#3. Zheng/Niu (A) def. Feng/Naughton (DA) 8-6
Exhibition: Capella/Salz (DA) def. Ware/Virmani (A) 8-1
Singles order of finish: 6,5,4,2,3,1
#1. Chase Burke (A) def. Ethan Li (DA) 6-4, 6-1
#2. Jacob Pletka (A) def. Gunter Weldon (DA) 6-2, 6-1
#3. Jeff Shen (A) def. Tom Molson (DA) 6-2, 6-1
#4. Ben Shin (A) def. Tai Feng (DA) 6-1, 6-1
$5. Kevin Niu (A) def. Anthony Sparacio (DA) 6-1, 6-2
#6. Avery Zheng (A) def. Walker Naughton (DA) 6-1, 6-0
Exhibition: Jeremy Liao (A) def. Christian Capella 6-3, 6-2
Exhibition: Blix Salz (DA) def. Adrien Werner (A) 6-0, 6-1
Exhibition: Ryan Diffley (DA) def. Suvit Virmani (A) 8-2