CALEB MILLER and the MHS boy’s tennis team came up victorious against Stoneham this week in a 5-0 sweep. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—The Melrose High boys’ tennis team picked up a key, league win in a 5-0 sweep over Stoneham on Monday, April 22 at the Crystal Street Courts in Melrose.

Melrose continues their season against Middlesex League teams this week as they approach midseason, with power rankings due on Friday.

Melrose enjoyed a fresh 5-0 sweep over the Spartans for an overall solid day. The winners included: 1st Singles – Daniel Teittinen who won 6-2, 6-1; 2nd Singles – Patrick Stratford who won 6-2, 6-2; and 3rd Singles – Caleb Miller who won 6-0, 6-2.

They also prevailed in doubles which included: 1st Doubles – Nathan Chow and Gautik Singh who won 6-0, 6-1; and 2nd Doubles – Joseph Smith and Joseph Brady who won 6-0, 6-0.

“Stoneham usually has several athletic players, sometimes with styles that are difficult to play against,” says Melrose head coach Sam Stallings. “Their first singles gave us a good fight in the first set, but Daniel was able to settle in and pull through. Everywhere else, our guys played in control and didn’t let up.”

Also coming up strong for Melrose during the day was Caleb Miller. “Caleb has been very steady for us at 3rd singles and Gautik Singh has been great at 1st doubles,” says Stallings. “Both guys have been serving well and using that to their advantage in the wins.”

He continued. “The team has been doing a better job at weathering the storm when opponents play well, and finding ways to navigate through those points and games. But we need to do a better job at holding serve and finishing sets when we find ourselves with the opportunity.”

Melrose went on to fall to a tough Newton South on the road on Tuesday, 4-1. Their sole win came from Daniel Teittinen who had an impressive win. “Daniel had an awesome, pressure-filled win at first singles to get us our one point. His opponent was very tough and had a difficult game to play against, but Daniel was resilient and had belief the entire match,” says coach Stallings.

The scores against Newton South were:

1st Singles – Daniel Teittinen won 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5

2nd Singles – Patrick Stratford lost 2-6, 2-6

3rd Singles – Caleb Miller lost 5-7, 6-4, 2-6

1st Doubles – Nathan Chow and Gautik Singh lost 3-6, 2-6

2nd Doubles – Joseph Brady and Alec Truesdale lost 1-6, 1-6

Despite the loss, coach Stallings saw much to be proud of. “Caleb played hard at 3rd singles, and had chances to win, but came out on the wrong end of a three-set match. He’s performed well under pressure, but just didn’t get the important games that he needed to today. So, I’m looking forward to seeing how he responds when he is in those situations again going forward.”

At press time, Melrose was slated to host Watertown at home on Wednesday and then travel to Lexington on Friday.

Says the coach, “We’ll set our eyes on Watertown tomorrow and then we will have a tough matchup against Lexington on Friday. I’m looking for us to continue to learn about our games and how we can improve, and we can do that against both opponents we face this week.”