Girls’ tennis carried senior night spirit at home court, securing a blowout win against Braintree 5-0, Thursday, May 21.
“Senior day brings a different energy to the match and there’s like a lot of love and just really willingness to go out there and get it done for your seniors,” said head coach Kate Mannelly. ”I think everyone kind of rose to the occasion and celebrated our four seniors in the best way possible.”
North entered the match with unbreakable spirit and displayed effortless teamwork in their doubles matches, according to Mannelly. Additionally, the team played 8-game pro sets rather than best-of-three sets, which made getting off to a strong start especially important, she added.
“We’re such a family on and off the court and all support and love each other,” added senior Julia Kammer, captain along with seniors Finley Crane, Bea Fernandez-Medina, and Kathryn Fine.
Fine and Kammer, the seniors in the starting varsity lineup, each displayed effortless teamwork and were able to control points. Though Braintree’s tactics posed a significant challenge, the seniors were able to secure their match for the team.
According to Kammer, the team’s opponents played back at the baseline. “It was a difficult strategy for us because we’re really good at the net,” said Kammer.
However, Kammer and Fine were undeterred by their approach and played to their strengths by poaching and driving their opponents off the court. “We were really able to overcome it by communicating and really hitting those angles and finding open court,” said Fine.
Sophomores Adi Sinay and Maia Peruzzi also dominated their match, earning themselves a special win as second doubles.
“We loved the support from our team,” said Sinay. “It really motivates us for every point and it really showed our hard work and improvement because it’s our first big win on varsity.”
Juniors Karina Chung, Roxy Feldman, and Cindy Qiao stayed consistent throughout their singles matches, taking advantage of open court and forcing their opponents into tough positions to each land a victory.
Despite initially struggling with her serve, Feldman was able to stay focused and consistent with her shots, winning 8-1. “I gave every point 110% effort,” said Feldman.
The Tigers upset 15 seed Belmont High in the Round of 32 of the State Tournament, then fell to one seed Boston Latin in the Sweet Sixteen.
