UPDATE: Girls’ tennis finishes regular season strong, defeats Winthrop 5-0 to advance to the Round of 16

SENIOR CAPTAIN Maddie Sieve (holding flowers) and her family, from left, Ben, Jim, Alex, Olivia and Mitchell, were recognized for their contributions to the girls’ tennis team before Lynnfield defeated rival North Reading 5-0 on Senior Day on May 23. Maddie held up a picture of her late mom, Sharla, in her honor during the ceremony. (Jamie Hayman Photo)

 

 

 

After press time:
Lynnfield defeats Winthrop 5-0 (June 1) advances to play Leicester in the Round of 16 on June 4.
For more details and the latest MIAA State Tournament updates, click here.

 

 

Published May 29, 2024

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The girls’ tennis team is headed to the state tournament for the 41st consecutive season.

Lynnfield (12-6) qualified for the Division 4 state tournament after defeating Triton 5-0 on May 29.

Captain Paige Martino easily dispatched her first singles counterpart in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

Sophomore Lily Alves dismantled her second singles opponent in two sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Senior captain Maddie Sieve secured a two-set victory during third singles, prevailing 6-0, 6-0.

Senior captain Leticia Marafon and junior Ella Hayman won their first doubles match in two sets, 6-1, 6-4.

Sophomore Vicky McCrann and freshman Emma Wagon prevailed 6-2, 6-2 during second doubles.

Lynnfield head coach Craig Stone commended the Pioneers’ performance against the Red Hawks, which he noted was Lynnfield’s 10th win of the season and clinched the Division 4 state tournament appearance.

“Lynnfield has won 10 or more matches a year in 39 of the last 40 seasons,” said Stone. “The season following COVID in 2021, when we went 9-4 and were only allowed to compete in Cape Ann League matches and no non-league matches, did we fall short of the 10-win mark.  We have been fortunate to have a lot of quality players through the years. Not only have they played well on the court, but they have made playing for Lynnfield tennis a time-honored tradition.”

 

 

Falls to Marblehead

The Pioneers were edged 3-2 by Marblehead on May 21.

Martino defeated her first singles opponent in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Alves won her second singles match in three sets. After losing the first set 4-6, Alves bounced back and won the second set 6-2 and won the third set tiebreaker 10-5.

Sieve dropped her third singles match in two sets, 1-6, 5-7.

Marafon and Hayman lost their first doubles match in consecutive sets, 1-6, 1-6.

McCrann and Wagon lost a hard-fought three-set thriller during second doubles. After winning the first set 6-3, McCrann and Wagon fell 1-6 during the second set and lost the third set 6-7 (9-11).

Stone said Marblehead, which competes in Division 2, is a “quality team from top to bottom.”

“So close,” said Stone. “We were literally one point away from a possible team win. Playing competitive teams during the season is a must. That is why all our five non-league matches are against teams that have previously qualified for tournament play. Hopefully, this will prepare us for those tough tournament matches ahead.”

Defeats Rockport

The Pioneers bounced back with a 4-1 win over Rockport on May 22.

Martino dismantled her first singles opponent in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

Alves was leading her second singles opponent 3-0 in the first set when her counterpart was forced to stop playing due to health reasons.

Hayman got the start at third singles for the first time, and lost the two-hour long match in three sets. After winning the first set 6-3, Hayman lost the second set 5-7 and fell 3-10 during the third set super tiebreaker.

McCrann and Wagon moved up to first doubles and defeated their counterparts in two sets, 6-0, 6-1.

Junior Bella Nguyen and sophomore Victoria Clancy earned their first varsity wins at second doubles after defeating their opponents 6-0, 6-0.

Stone was thrilled that the Pioneers were able to get back into the win column by cruising past Rockport.

“We were able to move some players around to face a different set of challenges, get more players involved and still came up with the win,” said Stone. “We have a talented team with plenty of depth. Only seven players can start and there are no substitutions during play. Getting more players involved is a way to recognize their commitment to tennis and the team.”

Stings North Reading

The Pioneers concluded the regular season and celebrated Senior Day in style by defeating rival North Reading 5-0 on May 23.

Before the match began, the Pioneers honored Marafon and Sieve along with their respective families for their contributions to the girls’ tennis team. Sieve held up a photo of her late mother, Sharla, while she and her family were being honored. Sharla was an accomplished tennis player while competing with the Pioneers in high school.

Martino defeated her first singles opponent in two sets, 6-2, 7-6.

Alves dispatched her second singles counterpart in two sets, 6-0, 6-3.

Sieve earned a hard-fought third singles victory after defeating her opponent in three sets. Sieve won the first set 6-0, fell 1-6 during the second set and prevailed 10-7 during the third set super tiebreaker.

Marafon and Hayman prevailed 6-3, 6-1 during first doubles.

McCrann and Wagon won their second doubles match in two sets, 6-2, 6-3.

Stone said the Pioneers “played its best tennis of the week” against North Reading.

“It was our fourth match in four days,” said Stone. “It’s always nice to win the last match of the regular season, but it’s especially nice on Senior Day.  There was a great crowd and the players responded, showing no ill effects from having to play four matches in a row, the last three of which were under considerably warm conditions.”

State tournament awaits

The third seeded Pioneers will face the winner of 30th seed Winthrop and 35th seed Greenfield in the Division 4 state tournament’s Round of 32, which had yet to be scheduled when the Villager went to press. Winthrop and Greenfield face off in the preliminary round on Wednesday, May, 29.