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Sports

Lynnfield Falls to Manchester in Division 3 North Semi Finals

Pioneers work hard on the court but are unable to pull off the win

The Lynnfield Lady Pioneers Tennis team lost 5-0 to their long time rival, the Manchester Essex Regional Hornets, in the Division 3 North Semi Finals on Wednesday. 

Lynnfield has a long tradition of making it to the semi finals and beyond, and while this year the team will not progress further, Coach Craig Stone says they have had a season filled with a lot of great accomplishments.

“The overall score is not indicative of the level of play,” Coach Stone said of the match, adding that he has a lot of pride in his players who have met many challenges throughout the season and continuously pushed themselves to be better.

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Lynnfield, which at the end of the regular season was seeded seventh, headed out to the Manchester Athletic Club to play the third seeded Manchester Hornets. The girls played on four courts; therefore the first singles, first doubles, second doubles and third singles started off the match. While the match featured all Varsity players, the Junior Varsity Pioneers came to support and cheer on their teammates.

Lynnfield has some strong singles performances

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In the first singles match Lynnfield’s senior Julia Broding faced off against Manchester’s Freshman Michelle Fuca. As the girls faced off, the intensity could be heard in their hits, as well as their frustration when they felt they didn’t perform their best.  Fuca won the two sets, the first 6-1, and second 6-4. Fuca came out strong from the beginning, but Broding, whose has been on Lynnfield’s Varsity team for four years, grew stronger as the games went on, but wasn’t able to pull away with the win in the end.

Another strong singles match was between Lynnfield’s Tori Copelas ‘11 and Manchester’s Hannah Daley ’11. Copelas is a strong athlete and fierce competitor according to Stone, which was clear throughout her performance. Copelas’ speed on the court was impressive and she worked to hit back every ball she could. However, in the end Daley took the two sets (6-0, 6-1).

Lynnfield Sophomore Ana Grava came out strong against Manchester freshman Kendall McCormick. Both players had some powerful hits and great plays, but McCormick came away with a win (6-3, 6-3).

Doubles Came Out Strong

In the first doubles match Lynnfield’s Karen Kelter ’11 and Jordan Miller ’12 faced Manchester’s Eliza Rohner ‘12 and Rachel Daley ’14. Manchester would take the match (6-2, 6-3) but Kelter and Miller played strong throughout and made Manchester work for the win. Kelter and Miller made a strong doubles team. Kelter began playing varsity for a few matches last year, this year becoming steady and reliable as part of the No. 1 doubles, according to Stone.

 In the second doubles match , Pioneers Molly McCarthy ’12 and Danielle Soden ‘14 went up against Manchester’s Anna Tyler ‘12 and Molly Carlson ’14. Both Lynnfield and Manchester took a set in this match, moving into a final tie breaker, which Manchester ended up winning.

An Impressive Match

Throughout the match, both teams had many impressive performances. “I would have rathered played outside,” Stone joked at the end pointing out that Lynnfield plays their whole season outside, and a variety of variables can affect performance, therefore Stone would have liked to have seen how the team performed outside.

“I want to give Manchester their due,” Stone said, “They are a very tough team and would have been tough in any venue.” Stone said the Manchester girls played well in every match.

Stone leaves this season proud of his players and knows they are proud of their accomplishments as well. “It is important to them to be successful,” Stone said, adding that they are successful on the court, in their academics and in extracurricular. “I’ve enjoyed watching them grow as a team,” he said, “I am pleased with what they have accomplished this year.”

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