Warriors host Wilmington tonight at 6 p.m.

LAURA McGOVERN beat her Watertown opponent 6-1, 6-2 at Watertown High School on Wednesday. The co-captain played hard against a tough Reading opponent the next day and won eight games. McGovern and the Warriors will play four more matches this week, starting tonight, 6 p.m. vs. Wilmington at the Dobbins Courts. (Donna Larsson Photo)

Published in the May 14, 2018 edition.

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WAKEFIELD — The WMHS girls’ tennis team knew their three matches last week could qualify as the toughest week of the season as they hosted Burlington on Tuesday, traveled to Watertown on Wednesday and hosted Reading on Thursday.

After a tough sweep at the hands of the Red Devils on Tuesday, the Warriors rallied for a great performance against the Raiders on Wednesday, as Wakefield won, 4-1.

The Warriors’ wins came at second singles, third singles, first doubles and second doubles, but perhaps the most spirited matchup was at first singles where co-captain Haley Tanner gave Watertown’s Lillian Marr, a nationally ranked player, all she could handle as Tanner won five games but came up short in the first set, before dropping the second set.

The rest of the singles players for Wakefield were comfortable and confident especially in their first sets.

Olivia Dziadyk won at second singles, 6-0, 6-2 and Laura McGovern won at third singles, 6-1, 6-2.

Both doubles teams were excellent for Wakefield. At first doubles, Emily Roberts and Kelsey Callanan held on to beat a tough Raider duo, 6-2, 5-3.

At second doubles, freshmen Hannah Guay and Erica Pecjo set the tone in the first with a 6-0 victory before winning the second set 6-3.

“It was another big win for us,” said Wakefield head coach Kathy Healey.

Wakefield returned home to the Dobbins Courts the next day to face a talented Rockets team. Reading once again has a powerful team this year, and especially considering that Wakefield was playing their third match in three days, it felt like a difficult scenario for the Warriors.

Even though Reading would win 4-1, Wakefield fought hard and played about as well as you can against a team of this caliber.

“We were happy to win one point off a powerful Reading team,” said Healey.

The Warriors’ only win came at first singles where Tanner won a back-and-forth first set, 6-4 which seemed to discourage her opponent as Tanner cruised to a 6-0 win in the second set.

Dziadyk and McGovern made sure their singles opponents were going to earn theirs.

McGovern lost the first set at third singles, 6-3 before fighting back in an excellent second set in which she lost 7-5.

Dziadyk won her first set, 6-3, lost the second one 6-3 and just came up short in a 10-point tiebreak, 10-6.

Those efforts from the three seniors against a program like Reading should certainly be something the younger Warriors remember and try to emulate.

At first doubles, Roberts and Callanan fell 6-0, 6-2 and Guay and Pecjo lost at second doubles, 6-4, 6-1.

It will be another very busy week for Wakefield as they get ready to play four more matches. Wakefield hosts Wilmington tonight at 6 p.m. under the lights. They will travel to Melrose on Wednesday and Stoneham on Thursday before hosting Stoneham on Friday.