SENIOR CAPTAIN Sean Donovan has played his last match at home for the MHS boys tennis team, but it was a good one, an opening round playoff win over N. Quincy, 3-2. (Nadia Dell Sonno photo)
Update post publication:
Melrose falls to Duxbury 5-0 in sweet 16
Published June 9, 2023
Quincy win sends team to Sweet 16 play
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The #16 seeded Melrose High boy’s varsity tennis team took an opening round win in the Div. 2 playoffs when they hosted No. 17 North Quincy on and took a 3-2 victory at home on June 1 at Crystal Street Courts in Melrose.
It represents their first playoff win since 2018 and first post season home win in recent years. With the win the team, at press time, advanced to the Sweet 16 to face #1 Duxbury (18-1) this week (post deadline).
“North Quincy was a solid overall team, but their singles guys gave us more trouble than their doubles pairings did,” said Melrose head coach Sam Stallings after the win.
Melrose freshman Dan Teittinen was the big winner in singles play. He secured a second singles win over his N. Quincy opponent, 2-6, 6-3 and 6-3. “That earned us the overall match win,” says his coach. “Daniel showed a lot of resolve in his first playoff match of his career. It’s not easy to win one’s first match in a playoff situation, but it’s even tougher to drop the first set and have to make a three-set comeback. But he trusted his fundamentals and his game, and he found a way to turn things around and help his team to the win.”
Coming up short were Sean Donovan (7-5, 6-2) and Pat Stratford (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) in first and third singles, respectively.
Doubles teams came up big thanks to the first double pairing of Caleb Miller and Ben Rossi, who won 6-0, 6-2 over their North Quincy opponents. Also prevailing were double pairs Dan O’Donnell, senior captain, and Nathan Chow, who both won 6-0 and 6-1.
“All three of their singles players were well-rounded, and each of them won the first sets of their matches…so that presented the us with some early adversity.”
They will certainly have a daunting task ahead when they face Duxbury this week. Fans are encouraged to visit www.miaa.net and visit our social media pages for up to date playoff information.