THE NRHS boys’ tennis team traveled to Lowell’s Callary Park on Tuesday and came away with a 4-1 win. North Reading beat Pentucket 4-1 in the season-opener and fell to Newburyport 3-2 in their second match. The team hosts Hamilton-Wenham on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. (NRHS Boys’ Tennis Photo)
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LOWELL — In their first non-league match of the season on Tuesday afternoon, the North Reading High boys’ tennis team beat host Lowell Catholic, 4-1, at Callery Park on a very warm day. With that victory, the Hornets improved to 2-1.
“We were missing some of the seniors who went on the school Japan trip,” pointed out Hornets head coach Mark Bisognano. “To win that match was good without them.”
At first singles, Parker Lee won, 6-0, 6-1. Raffi Toby won, 6-4, 6-0, at second singles while Samir Murthy won a team-game pro set, 10-4, at third singles as the Hornets already clinched the match.
In doubles action, the first team of Jonathan Park and eighth-grader, Connor Abruzzese, won, 6-1, 6-2. The second team of Ruari Maynes and Isaac Liang lost as they lost the first set, 6-3. They won the second set, 6-2, but had to default in the third set even though they were up 2-1.
The day before the Lowell Catholic match, the Hornets were edged by guest Newburyport, 3-2, to fall to 1-1 in the Cape Ann League.
“We have been evenly matched with them the past three years,” pointed out Bisognano. “This is the fifth-straight 3-2 decision we have had against them.”
Roman Ton played fist singles and won, 6-0, 6-0. Lee also won, 6-2, 6-0, at second singles.
Toby lost at third singles 6-4, 7-6 (7-3 in the tiebreaker).
Both doubles teams fell. The pair of Park and Aiden Patel lost, 6-0, 6-3, while the second team of Murthy and Alex DeWolfe lost 7-6 (8-6 tiebreaker), 6-0.
In the season opener on April 5, the Hornets won at home over Pentucket 4-1.
“It was a cold, windy day but our doubles teams played well,” said Bisognano.
The first team of Park and Patel won, 6-1, 7-5, while Murthy and DeWolfe won, 6-1, 6-0.
In the singles matches, Tom won, 6-1, 6-4 while Lee won, 6-1, 6-4.
Toby lost in three sets at third singles as he won the first set, 7-5, but lost the next two, 6-3, 6-1.
The next match for the Hornets will be April 13 (Thursday) as they host Hamilton-Wenham at 4:15 p.m. The team will then have the April Vacation week off next week as they return to action on April 24. That day, they welcome Manchester-Essex and the match will start at 4:15 p.m.