Viking girls tennis win three straight, double win total

May 24, 2014

About a week ago, Wareham High girls tennis Coach Geoff Swett said that he thought his team had turned the corner and was really coming together as a team.

“I think they’ll win at least three out of their last four matches,” said Swett at one of the team’s practices prior to a recent match with New Bedford High School.

The team, previously 3-11, has already proven their coach right, as it won a home match against New Bedford 3-2 on Tuesday and then it swept a double-header at home Wednesday against Seekonk, taking both the first and the second match 5-0 apiece to double the team’s win total to six in just two days.

Against New Bedford, Wareham’s Kristin Monty lost to New Bedford’s Emma York 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 at first singles, but Hope Wallace defeated New Bedford’s Ashley Souza 7-6 (7-2), 6-1. At third singles, Wareham’s Taylor Mitchell beat New Bedford’s Kelsey Santos 6-2, 6-4.

New Bedford’s Rachel Neves and Arianna Bedoya beat Wareham’s Rachel Avila and Nicole Nault at first doubles by a count of 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, but the second doubles team of Nicole Russo and Charlemya Erasme defeated New Bedford’s Himali Patel and Chenyu Chen 7-6 (7-2), 6-0.

In the first match of the double-header Wednesday, Monty defeated Seekonk’s Ally Amaral 7-5, 6-1 at first singles, and at second singles, Wallace defeated Seekonk’s Megan Hayward 6-0, 6-0. At third singles, Mitchell defeated Seekonk’s Kayla Balasco 6-1, 6-0.

At first doubles, the Wareham duo of Avila and Nault defeated Seekonk’s Jamie Behan and Morgan Anderson 8-5, and at second doubles, Russo and Erasme beat Seekonk’s Hannah MacDonald and Monica Maziarz of Seekonk 8-2.

In the second match of the double-header, Monty again defeated Amaral 6-0, 6-0, Wallace beat Hayward 6-0, 6-2, and Mitchell was again victorious over Balasco 6-1, 6-0.

At first doubles, the team of Avila and Nault beat Anderson and Behan 6-0, 6-1, and at second doubles, and Russo and Erasme beat MacDonald and Maziarz 8-2.

Wareham (SCC 4-10; overall 6-11) was set to face Middleboro in the final match of the season Thursday, but it was rained out.

Swett said one of the keys to their victory in the first match against New Bedford was the play at second and third singles and second doubles, where the teams had wins. He said the Seekonk match showed the teams mental toughness, particularly at first singles.

“Kristin Monty changed her game in the middle of the first set to turn a pending loss into two convincing wins,” said Swett.