HYANNIS – On the heels of a tough loss Monday to the Sandwich Blue Knights, the St. John Paul II girls’ tennis team (2-4) stepped its game up a notch with a win over the Sturgis East/West girls’ co-op tennis squad Tuesday afternoon.
St. John Paul II senior co-captain Haylee Whiteley helped pace the Lady Lions to a 5-0 victory Tuesday over Sturgis East/West.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
“All in all the girls are playing beautifully,” said first-year head coach Katie Dombrowski. “We came off a tough match yesterday against Sandwich… we were down two starters for various reasons so to come back today and win one was fantastic.”
Led by senior co-captain Haylee Whiteley, back from a brief absence at number one singles, the Lady Lions made their victory a decisive one with a 5-0 blanking of the Sturgis squad. Whiteley defeated Ally Bouse, 6-2, 6-0, and that victory was followed up by an ultra-competitive performance from Lions’ number two singles junior co-captain Emily Canzano. Canzano defeated Shannon Kelsey, 6-0, 6-1.
“Emily’s tenacity is something I’ve never seen before. She loses a point and lets it roll off and she’s on to the next one with more determination,” Coach Dombrowski said.
St. John Paul II number three singles player Julia Grady took her match with an almost strategic precision, defeating Jordana Townsend, 6-2, 6-1.
“She was constructing points brilliantly. Yesterday, she was mixing up spins, mixing up paces, angles and really manipulating the points, so I can only imagine she made success of that today,” Dombrowski said.
In what would have been her second win as a varsity head coach, Dombrowski was not able to attend Tuesday’s match versus Sturgis due to a required training course in New Bedford for employment at St. John Paul II.
The Lions were also missing first doubles player Rachel McClellan today, so the decision was made to move Meghan Moran up to second doubles and the move paid off. Grace Sohoel-Goldberg and Moran teamed up at number two doubles in what could only be deemed the most intense battle of Tuesday’s match-up between the two teams. Facing Sturgis’ Isabelle Racette and Sydney Barletta, the Lions girls knew they were in for a fight when the Sturgis duo defeated Sohoel-Goldberg and Moran, 6-3 in the first set. In the second set, Sohoel-Goldberg and Moran prevailed over Racette and Barletta, 6-4, and the opponents then met in a tiebreaker.
Lady Lions’ junior co-captain Emily Canzano continued her torrid pace of attack in Tuesday’s 5-0 win over Sturgis.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos
Sohoel-Goldberg and Moran prevailed in the tie-breaker, 7-5, for the win.
Not to be overlooked, the St. John Paul II Lions first doubles team of Jacqueline Germani and Allison Santos made it clear who wanted the victory with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Sturgis’ Ashlynne McNally and Abby Nickerson.
The St. John Paul II Lady Lions return to action after the April school vacation on April 28. Thursday’s pre-scheduled match against Bishop Stang was postponed until after break.
“It was only Meghan’s (Moran) second varsity match of the year,” Dombrowski said. “So that’s a great win.”
In Sandwich High School’s 4-1 win over St. John Paul II on Monday, the drive to compete was certainly present, but the Blue Knights proved more formidable than might have been anticipated.
Sandwich’s Grace Tanguilig defeated Canzano 6-3, 7-5 in a hard-fought battle at number one singles, followed by Liz Siranosian’s 6-2, 6-2 win at number two singles over Julia Grady. Kay Stanton then followed with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Santos at number three singles.
“Emily (Canzano) fought for every point with her typical dogged determination,” Coach Dombrowski said.
St. John Paul defeated the Blue Knights at number one doubles as Sohoel-Goldberg and senior co-captain Germani defeated Allison Bryant and Laura Murphy, 6-1, 6-2.
Amy Bolton and Jenna Phillips followed with a critical win over the Lady Lions at number two doubles, 6-3, 6-3, over Emily Bean and Moran.
St. John Paul II’s victory Tuesday over Sturgis was a key Cape & Islands League win for the Lions.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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