Updates after press time:
Melrose falls to Lexington 5-0 (May 2)
Melrose defeats Watertown 5-0 (April 30)
Melrose defeats Stoneham 5-0 (April 28)
Published April 25, 2025
Back-to-back wins over Wilmington and Malden are twice as nice for boys’ tennis
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High boy’s tennis team is riding a two-match winning streak thanks to victories recorded against Wilmington and Malden last week, as they now enjoy a well-earned school vacation break this week.
On April 16, Melrose beat Wilmington 4-1 at home at Lyons Court, winning all but their third singles effort. Coming up victorious were Daniel Teittinen in first singles who won 6-4, 6-4, Joseph Brady who won in second singles, 6-3, 6-4, Grady Kamosa and Anatoly Heimowitz in second doubles who won 6-4, 6-3 and Colin Cote and Damien Wittebol in second doubles who won, 4-6, 6-3, 10-2.
While Wilmington was not as deep as they have been in prior seasons, they still had a solid trio of singles players, according to Melrose coach Sam Stallings. “They have a freshman at 1st singles who has a lot of talent and managed to push Daniel a bit, in a good way. In the past, we’ve split wins with Wilmington…they’re a well coached team and are usually ready to compete when we go up against them,” he said.
It was an “all hand on deck” effort and one that pleased their coach, and the day saw newer players step up. Notes Stallings, “I was very happy with all of our guys that pulled through with wins in this match, as we have been short-handed the past week or two with players away on trips, etc. In this match, Anatoly and Damien both stepped up big-time to help us win.”
The following day Melrose traveled to Amerige Park in Malden and took on the Golden Tornados and swung to a 4-1 victory.
“Malden is a solid team, they’re pretty scrappy and can give us difficulty with how they play,” says the coach. “I’m proud of our guys who stayed in control in this match and helped us to get the win.”
Melrose swept the singles events behind the work of Daniel Teittinen won 6-0, 6-0 (first) Joseph Brady who won 6-3, 6-0 (second) and Andy Wang who won 6-3, 6-1. Melrose also picked up a win in second doubles behind the work of Jameson Cunningham and Aiden Ryan who won 6-4, 6-1.
In this match, Melrose counted on Grady Kamosa and Colin Cote to step up in the role of first doubles. “They are usually second doubles but they competed well against a decent team and came up just short,” says their coach.
Making their varsity debut was Jameson Cunningham and Aiden Ryan who played in their first varsity matches at 2nd doubles. “They did a great job pulling through,” says Stallings. “They were down early in the first set and managed to right the ship going forward for a win. All of our singles guys [Daniel, Joseph, and Andy] were very steady and poised in this match…it was a strong team win for us.”
With back-to-back wins, Melrose enters the halfway mark of the season with a spring in their step. “I think they felt very relieved, myself included, to get on the winning side of things last week,” says Stallings. “We’ve started the season with some tough losses, including having match points against Reading and Wakefield but not putting them away. The slow start has given us some mental but the boys are showing they can bounce back.”
Melrose will enjoy an April vacation break before picking up action on Monday against Stoneham at 4:15 pm at home and Watertown on the road on Wednesday. They’re looking to continue their winning ways against two key league rivals.
“We’re doing better maintaining composure, even in some of our losses we’ve had chances to win,” says Stallings. “It’s important to build confidence. We’re at a point in the season where we know what we bring to the table and our need to not back down to our opponents and have more urgency to win. We’ve got eleven matches left on our schedule, many of them are winnable.”