Update after press time:
North Reading falls to Ipswich 3-2 (May 12)
North Reading defeats Rockport 4-1 (May 8)
Published May 8, 2025
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
WEST NEWBURY — On May 1, the North Reading High girls’ tennis team beat host Pentucket by a final of 4-1. With that victory, the Hornets improved to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the Cape Ann League.
Althea Bradley won at first singles with matching 6-1 scores. Matilda Ton won, 6-1, 6-0, at second singles.
Shenaya Verma played at third singles and also won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
In doubles action, the first team of Aniya Taneja and Addison Stetson won,6-0, 6-4.
The second pairing of Juliet Wasilewski and Mary Doble lost 7-6 (8-6 in the tiebreaker), 7-5.
“That was a good team win for us, said Hornets head coach Matt Tiberii. “Our only loss, at second doubles, was a very close match.”
On May 30, the Hornets completed a match against non-league Methuen. This match started in Methuen on April 15 and was stopped due to rain midway through.
The match was then completed in North Reading due to the fact that there was a boys’ match at Methuen that day.
The Hornets ended up edging the Rangers, 3-2, that went down to the wire.
“This match could have went either way,” admitted Tiberii. “But our girls came through. In my years of coaching I have never had a match like this with playing at both places with 15 days in between.”
Bradley won, 6-0, 6-1, while Ton won in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
“She got down, 3-0, in that final set,” pointed out Tiberii. “She then played smarter tennis and made the comeback.”
In doubles play, Wasilewski and Doble lost in three sets. They lost the first one, 6-1, but won the second one, 7-6 (9-7 in the tiebreaker). However, they fell in the third set, 6-4.
The second team of Verma and Taneja won in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
The Tuesday match at home against Pentucket was rained out and will be made up on May 13 at 4 p.m.The home match on Monday against Rockport was also washed out and that will be made up on May 10 at 10 a.m.
On Friday, the Hornets visit Lynnfield at 3:30 p.m. They then host Ipswich on May 12 and welcome Newburyport on May 14. Those two matches will start at 4 p.m.
North Reading was seeded 20th in the MIAA power rankings heading into this week. The top 32 teams at the end of the regular season automatically qualify for the tournament regardless of their overall record.