SENIOR CAPTAIN Anna Radulski defeated her second singles counterpart in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, during the girls’ tennis team’s 3-2 loss to Manchester-Essex in the Elite 8 of the Division 4 state tournament on June 11. (Dan Tomasello Photo)

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The third seeded girls’ tennis team’s season came to a close after the Pioneers fell 3-2 to sixth-seeded Manchester-Essex in the Elite 8 of the Division 4 state tournament at Lynnfield Middle School on June 11.

“It’s obviously disappointing because you want to keep going when you get this far,” said Pioneers head coach Craig Stone. “After graduating five out of our top eight players last year, everyone should be very proud of what we accomplished this season.”

Senior captain Anna Radulski gave the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead after she defeated second singles counterpart Sophie Zalosh in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

“Anna is very competitive,” said Stone. “She was disappointed that she lost to Advanced Math and Science Academy in three sets in the round of 32. She just needed to continue practicing, which is what she did. She was really pumped for this match, and she played very well.”

Manchester-Essex was able to take a 2-1 lead after the Hornets swept both doubles matches.

Senior captain Lauren Grava and sophomore Maddie Sieve lost their first doubles match to Parker Brooks and Gracie Susko in two sets, 1-6, 2-6.

“Lauren played first doubles last year with Emily Goguen, and they had a successful year,” said Stone. “This year, Lauren played with Maddie, who had a tennis background but was on the track team last year. They had a great season. Maddie is very athletic, and her game is only going to get better.”

Senior Sarah Breslow and sophomore Leticia Marafon lost their second doubles match to the Hornets’ Sienna Crocker and Grayson Crocker in two sets, 2-6, 2-6.

“Sarah has been on the team for the last four years, and she played one doubles match last year as a junior,” said Stone. “Leticia didn’t play any varsity matches last year. They developed a nice chemistry on the court.”

Breslow said she and Marafon played “very well,” but she noted that the Crocker sisters had “a lot of opportunities to finish at the net.”

The Pioneers tied the match at 2-2 after freshman Paige Martino dismantled first singles counterpart Emery Provost in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0.

Stone said having Martino and Radulski playing singles for the Pioneers is the equivalent to having “two number one players.”

“Paige came as advertised,” said Stone. “I knew she had a competitive tennis background when she first joined the team, and I knew she could play the first time I saw her on the court. She has lived up to that billing all year long. She knows how to buckle down and get down to business.”

With the match tied 2-2, a trip to the Final Four came down to a third singles battle between junior Geena Gioioso and Manchester-Essex’s Vanessa Gregory in a match that lasted over two hours. After losing the first set 1-6, Gioioso rallied after being down early in the second set and forced a tiebreaker. She lost the second set 6-7(8).

“Geena knew every point was going to be a war,” said Stone. “Geena went from being a second doubles player to a topflight singles player, and her improvement has been incredible. Her attitude and team spirit is fantastic. She jumped out to an early lead in the second set but when the match was tied 3-3, they kept breaking each other’s serves until it was tied 5-5. After Vanessa took a 6-5 lead, Geena was able to battle back and force a tiebreaker. She was down 0-4 in the tiebreaker, but she was able to come back and tie it 6-6. I would have loved to see it go to a third set, and I know she would have been okay if it did.”

Grava agreed.

“Geena played great,” said Grava. “I am so proud of her.”

Stone recalled that the Pioneers fell 3-2 to archrival Manchester-Essex on May 23.

“It was a case of Déjà vu,” said Stone. “We thought it would come down to third singles. Manchester-Essex has more experience in doubles, and our strength is in singles. There was a great crowd here on both sides who had the opportunity to watch quality tennis. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Lynnfield concluded the 2022 season with a 15-6 record. If the Pioneers defeated the Hornets, it would have been Stone’s 1,200th career win between girls’ tennis and Lynnfield-North Reading co-op wrestling.

Radulski said she is incredibly proud of the Pioneers’ accomplishments this spring.

“We had a really great season, especially considering how many strong seniors we lost last year,” said Radulski. “I am so proud of everyone. I am really glad Paige joined the team. She is such an amazing player. I am really proud of our second doubles players Sarah and Leticia. They barely had any varsity experience, and they were able to get some huge wins for us, including Advanced Math and Science Academy. I am really proud of the team. We had a great season.”

Defeats Rockport

The Pioneers defeated Rockport 3-2 in the Sweet 16 on June 8.

Martino won her first singles match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.

Radulski defeated her second singles counterpart in two sets, 6-3, 6-2.

Gioioso secured a two-set victory during third singles, prevailing 6-1, 6-0.

Grava and Sieve lost their first doubles match in three sets. After winning the first set 6-4, Grava and Sieve lost the second set 1-6 and fell 3-6 during the third set.

Breslow and Marafon lost their second doubles match in three sets. After losing the set 2-6, Breslow and Marafon bounced back and won the second set 6-4. Breslow and Marafon lost the third set 6-7.

Stone said the Pioneers played very well against the Vikings.

“Paige was first off the court after winning 12 out of 13 games,” said Stone. “She was followed shortly by Genna, who accomplished the same. Meanwhile, both doubles were locked into three-set matches. Anna found herself in quite a battle with her steady Rockport opponent. Anna won the first set while both doubles teams split the first two sets. While both doubles teams were battling in the third set, Anna started her second set. Lauren and Maddie found themselves down 1-4 in the third set when they battled back to 3-4, but they couldn’t hang on. Sarah and Leticia were up 6-5 in the third set only to see Rockport come back to tie at 6-6, which forced a seven-point tiebreaker for the match. The tiebreaker followed much the same pattern as the third set with back-and-forth action. With the tiebreaker tied 5-5, Rockport won the next two points and the match. With the team score tied at 2-2, Anna was up 5-2 in the second set playing an endless game of deuce until she finally clinched the set 6-2 and the match.”