PAT STRATFORD was one of the winning players this week for the MHS boy’s tennis team who beat Wilmington and Woburn last week. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)
After press time:
Melrose falls to Bedford 5-0 (May 13)
Melrose falls to Wilmington 3-2 (May 10)
Melrose falls to Wakefield
Published May 10, 2024
Came up on the winning end this week
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High boys’ tennis team took two impressive wins over league rivals last week to earn their fifth win of the season. And, with just 6 matches to go in their regular season, it’s looking likely that Melrose could see a post season. Current playoff rankings have them ranked #27 in Div. 2 with an overall record of 5-7.
They started their winning ways by traveling to Wilmington on May 1 when they beat the Wildcats, 3-2 in a gripping match. The results were:
1st Singles – Daniel Teittinen won 1-6, 7-6 (8), 6-2
2nd Singles – Patrick Stratford lost 6-7 (5), 3-6
3rd Singles – Caleb Miller won 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
1st Doubles – Nathan Chow and Gautik Singh won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
2nd Doubles – Joseph Brady and Sammy McQuaid lost 2-6, 2-6
“We played a lot of pressure matches in this one, and my boys came out on the right side of most of them,” reports head coach Sam Stallings. “Daniel had an awesome bounce-back at 1st singles after a tough first set. Patrick was playing great tennis in the first set but his opponent won some big points in the tiebreaker to steal that set. Caleb was very resolved at 3rd singles, playing against a style that is similar to his, and he dug deep in the third set to finish that one in a strong manner.”
First doubles proved to be a pivotal outcome for Melrose. “Nathan and Gautik at 1st doubles had one of their best wins of the year. Their opponents were solid and they had to fight crowd noise from Wilmington.”
The win was impressive given the quality of Wilmington’s teams in recent years. “Wilmington has been one of the strongest teams in the league for the last few years,” says coach Stallings. “One of the highlights for our team last year was upsetting them in our second meeting. And we play them again this week and will expect another close battle.”
Melrose went on to travel to Woburn on May 2 and had a more convincing win, 4-1.
Notes Stallings, “Woburn is a team that we typically expect to perform well against, and we did so in most of the matches against them.”
Melrose swept in singles play. Daniel Teittinen, Patrick Stratford, and Caleb Miller won their matches in decisive fashion. And Joseph Brady and Sammy McQuaid also had a strong 6-0, 6-0 win at 1st doubles
“It was it was great to see Joe and Sammy play so well from start to finish,” says their coach.
At 2nd doubles, senior Tobin Clouser and junior Grady Kamosa played in their first-ever varsity matches. Unfortunately, they came out on the wrong side of a tiebreaker in the first set. Says the coach, “I expect them to learn from the loss and to be better from it going forward. I’m glad they were able to get some experience at the varsity level.”
A blip on the schedule came in the form of their loss to Wakefield on Monday. Says the coach, “We had some awesome battles in pretty much every match, but they were the better team. We have to move forward and set our eyes on Burlington and Wilmington this week.”
