By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LOWELL — Last season, the North Reading High girls’ tennis team reached the MIAA Division 3 Round of 16 before falling to Newburyport, 5-0.
With that loss, the Hornets ended up at 10-10 overall. In the Cape Ann League, they were 6-7 as they finished in 3rd place in the CAL Kinney Division behind Lynnfield and Newburyport.
The Hornets lost two seniors from that team, Vanessa Wright and Bhagy Bandanna, to graduation.
When spring practice opened back on St. Patrick’s Day, 8th-year head coach Matt Tiberii welcomed back 10 veterans.
Three of those veterans are this year’s senior tri-captains, Althea Bradley, Addison Stetson and Aniya Taneja. Bradley will play at first singles, Stetson will be at first doubles while Taneja will also play doubles.
The other senior back is Karina Mountain who will start the year at second doubles.
Mary Doble, Juliet Wasilewski, Maddy Barnes-Felix, Ava Peake and Shenaya Varma are the five 11th-graders returning.
The lone sophomore back is Matilda Ton who will start the year at second singles.
During the preseason, the team practiced outside missing just two days due to bad weather. They did not have any scrimmages.
North Reading will play 19 regular-season matches with 13 CAL ones and six non-league matches. The non-league opponents this season are Lowell Catholic, Bishop Fenwick, Methuen, Melrose, Swampscott and Bedford.
Lynnfield is still the team to beat in the Kinney Division according to Tiberii this year.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Hornets won their season opener beating host Lowell Catholic 5-0.
Bradley won her match at first singles, 6-2, 6-1, while Ton also won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, at second singles.
Verma won at third singles, 6-0, 6-2.
In doubles play, Stetson and Barnes-Felix won, 6-2, 4-6, 10-8 in the tiebreaker.
“The match was over at that point so they just played until ten that final set,” pointed out Tiberii.
Mountain and Doble won in straight sets at second doubles, 6-0, 6-2.
“The conditions were tough with the wind and cold so it was a good win for us to start the season,” said Tiberii.
On April 3, the Hornets host Pentucket at 4 p.m. They then go to Byfield to take on Triton on April 7. On April 9, North Reading visits Manchester-Essex. Both of those matches will also start at 4 p.m.