May 10, 2024 – Story by Ava DiCecca, photos by Joshua Ross
Harbormen tennis fell short to Duxbury on Monday in a well fought and all around scrappy match. This is the first time the boys have seen the Dragons this season and they went into it knowing they would be tough competitors. Duxbury is consistently one of their most skilled opponents that the team can always count on to make them work, allowing for them to improve and figure out what they need to do to come out on top when they face them later this month, this time at home. The outcome was not what they had hoped but now having been exposed to their level of competition, they will be able to correct the areas they need and build on the good parts of the match that will lead to a win next time.
Despite an overall 1-4 loss, there were many close sets that show a lot of promise for a win in the next match.
Overall the doubles teams weren’t able to push a third set but they put up a good fight and had some great plays fueled by their energy on the court. First doubles team of Liam Arnold and Evan Lynch fell short 3-6 and 4-6 and second doubles Logan Price and Teddy Reilly fell short 4-6 in both sets. There were very electric moments on both courts where the teams found their momentum and were able to dominate but they will need to do hat consistently in the next match to come out on top of a seasoned team like Duxbury.
The singles found some more success:
First single Parker Schultz won his first set 6-3 and put up a fantastic fight against a very strong opponent, showcasing yet again why he earned his spot.
Second single Ethan Warhaftig continued his consistent and successful season being the only one to win his match, pulling away with the win in two sets. The first set was close ending 6-4 but Warhaftig completely dominated the second match with a 6-1 win.
While third single Eric Li found some difficulty with his tough very opponent, he showed yet again that he is a strong opponent and stayed composed. He has been showing up and improving all season and will no doubt come back even stronger for their next match, having more experience.
After the match, Coach Gill stated, “I think whenever we play Duxbury we know it is going to be a long and tight match. I thought all of our singles played very well and the doubles I thought played well but they need to clean up some unforced errors and maybe have a few less double faults. I think we can win in both doubles but we absolutely have to play our best.” He also commented that their focus going forward will be finishing matches as they have been starting strong in their sets and now need to maintain and close each one out, especially against these really good teams.
Ethan Warhaftig who was able to pull out the win stated, “I think everyone battled hard today. We are really close in a lot of different ways and I think next time when we are at home it’ll be a different story.”
There is still plenty of season left and the boys will continue to improve and take it one game at a time. However, they will definitely have their eyes on their rematch against Duxbury and will look to come away with the win before transitioning into the tournament where they have many aspirations as well.