Wakefield celebrates 27th year for Junior Tournament
Published in the August 29, 2017 edition.
WAKEFIELD — Nineteen players competed in many impressive and enthusiastic tennis matches this past weekend at the beautiful Dobbins Courts. Blue skies, bright sunshine and cool temperatures were the backdrop for this 27th annual event, with champions crowned in four age brackets.
Boys 12 & Under
With five entries in the Boys U12 bracket, this bracket was the smallest it’s been in a few years, but the play was as exciting as ever.
The first match featured rookies Drew Barrett and lefty Charles Gagne. The two equally-matched players battled through long points featuring strong ground strokes with Barrett eventually outlasting the rookie Gagne 6-2, 6-4.
Luke Greif faced off against Barrett in the top semi-final and picked up where he left off last year, defeating Barrett 6-3, 6-1.
In the bottom semifinal, Justin Carino prevailed over Max Cusack 6-2, 6-3.
In the finals match Sunday morning, Grief stretched his tournament-winning streak to 3 years with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Carino. The score in games doesn’t fully tell the story of the match with the dual featuring many long points and a number of games going to deuce.
The French connection of brothers (and twins) Charles and Marc Gagne faced off against each other in the consolation round. Charles came out on top 6-2, 6-2. In the other consolation match, Cusack was unable to solve Barrett, as Barrett posted a 6-0, 6-0 win.
Boys 14 & Under
The five entries in the Boys U14 bracket were all tournament veterans. Johnny Whitson moved up to the U14 bracket this year and found himself in the only three-set match of the weekend with Dan Hurley. Whitson jumped out quickly to take the first set at 6-1, only to see Hurley bounce back to take the second 6-2. Whitson was able to regroup and wear Hurley down in the third set to take the match 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
In the top semifinal match, Whitson had to recover quickly from his earlier match to face the tough lefty Zack Goff. Goff was able to take advantage of the situation and bested Whitson 6-1, 6-3.
In the lower semifinal, Ben Palmer moved up from the U12 bracket to face Brett Butler. Palmer’s steady game was too much for Butler and Palmer moved on with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
The first final of the tournament was held under the bright Saturday afternoon sun with Palmer squaring off against Goff. The match featured long rallies and excellent shot-making by both players, but Palmer was able to gain control with his steady court coverage and was able to beat Goff 6-2, 6-1.
In consolation action, Butler was able to win over Hurley, 8-0 in a pro set. Butler prevailed again Sunday morning, this time over Ian Schermerhorn 6-2, 6-1.
Girls Open
Five girls competed in the tournament this year in one Open bracket with Olivia Goff and Laura Sweeney both playing up with the three high school contestants.
In the upper bracket, Laura Sweeney met Kelsey Callahan. Sweeney, playing up from the U14 bracket, got off to a quick start with a 6-0 first set. Callahan started to find her stride in the second set, but ran out of time as Sweeney closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win.
Lefty Olivia Goff, playing up from the U12 bracket, met Caroline Hurley in the lower half of the bracket Saturday morning in an exciting match. Both players showed excellent court coverage as well as strong shot-making. Goff was able to better Hurley by a 6-3, 6-1 score.
Last year’s champion Haley Tanner started her title defense Sunday morning against Sweeney. Tanner’s steady game proved too much for Sweeney as she moved on to the finals with 6-1, 6-0 win.
In the finals, Tanner and Goff squared off on Court 1 in front of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Tanner’s return game seemed to be the difference as she was able to extend many points that looked like winners for Goff and win her second consecutive championship. The final score was 6-1, 6-2 for Tanner but the match play was closer than the score indicated and featured many terrific points. Both players had the crowd clapping for their excellent play.
Boys High School
The HS Boys bracket featured three players moving up from last year’s U14 bracket to challenge last year’s returning champ.
In the first semifinal match, Noah Greif continued his tournament-winning streak with a win over fellow tennis team member Ian Schermerhorn 6-1, 6-2. In the other semifinal, returning champ Colin Lamusta met Jack Palmer. Lamusta looked strong out of the gate and had Palmer on his heels in the first set, but Palmer recovered with a strong effort in the second set. Palmer was up 4-3 and had the set tied up at 5-5 before Lamusta was able to regain control to take the win 6-0, 7-5.
The Greif-Lamusta finals showcased two strong tennis players. As he did in his semifinal match with Palmer, Lamusta jumped out quickly to take the first set. In the second set Lamusta was in control at 5-2 before Greif found his game. By dictating the pace and taking the play to Lamusta, Greif fought back to tie up the set at 5-5. Lamusta, worried about the prospect of a third, was able to regroup to go up 6-5 and was able to wrap up his second straight HS championship at 6-2, 7-5.
In consolation action, Jack Palmer took a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ian Schermerhorn.
Sportsmanship Award
Each year the Geoffrey Walter Tournament is proud to have a field filled with excellent competitors and many examples of sportsmanship. The tournament committee was proud to award Ian Schermerhorn the Sportsmanship trophy this year. Ian is a tournament veteran who has repeatedly impressed the tournament committee with his great attitude, composure and fair play.
Net Notes
A special thanks goes out to The Savings Bank, the primary sponsor of the Geoffrey Walter Jr. Tennis Tournament.
The committee wishes to thank the T-Stop for their tremendous work on the tournament t-shirts and Janet and Joe DeGuglielmo for their popular contribution of slush, a welcome refreshment for the players over the weekend. The success of the weekend was made possible by all of these donations.
Special thanks were extended once again to the Callahan Clan who graciously supplied the now-traditional ‘Breakfast at Dobbins’ French Toast as well as delicious coffee cake mini-muffins to the rave reviews of the Sunday morning crowd.
There was again a terrific turnout of many members of the Wakefield tennis community supporting this tournament including local tennis legend Pat Zagaria. Also visiting the tournament was Selectman Peter May.
Thanks are extended to the many families who have supported the event since it began and those who have been part of the last 15 years, creating a terrific weekend of tennis honoring Geoffrey Walter’s memory.
There was a buzz in this year’s crowd when it was noted that the two finalists in the HS Boys bracket had family ties to the University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens.
Celebrity sightings: Thelma and Louise (aka Eileen and Aunt Helen) were seen leaving the Dobbins Courts in a convertible on Saturday.