READING — The Wakefield High girls’ tennis team defeated Reading 4-1 on Tuesday at Reading High.
It wasn’t just another win for the Warriors who improved to 2-4 on the season. This victory is the program’s first over the Rockets in over two decades.
“It was an epic win,” said head coach Kathy Healey. “We haven’t beaten Reading in 21 years.”
Each individual match was memorable in this one. Two of the matches went to third sets while two others required a tiebreaker in the first set.
The quickest victory of the day belonged to Wakefield’s first doubles team of Toni Whitson and Addie Moon who defeated Mary-Kate O’Brien and Jane Hall 6-1, 6-2.
Ariannah Tringali worked hard in the first set against Hannah Goodhue to earn a tiebreaker victory, 7-5 in the first set before another hard-earned 6-4 win in set two gave Wakefield another win.
A similar pattern occurred at third singles where Wakefield’s Allie Cook defeated Heather Aylward 7-5 in the first set and then cruised to a 6-1 win in set two.
Luckily for Wakefield, those three wins already sealed their historic victory when first singles and second doubles went to third sets.
After dropping set one 6-4, Erin Leary and Sienna Catizone responded with a 6-4 win in the second set at second doubles against Bella Giordano and Lauren Cook. In yet another back-and-forth set, the Warriors prevailed 6-4 in the third.
Nora Fitzgerald battled hard at first singles against Reading’s top player, bouncing back from a 6-2 loss in the first set to win the second 6-2 before coming up short 6-3 in the third.
In the end, it was certainly a memorable day for the Warriors who have battled through the early part of their schedule against some of the best teams in the Middlesex League. That tough stretch will continue today at 4:15 p.m. when they host the very best, undefeated Lexington (11-0) at the Dobbins Courts. The Minutemen, ranked No. 2 in Div. 1 in the MIAA’s first power rankings, have yet to drop even one individual match this season.
Wakefield, ranked No. 28 in D2, will then get ready for a rematch with rival Melrose (No. 13, D2) on Monday, 4:15 p.m. back at the Dobbins Courts.
THE WARRIORS beat Reading for the first time in 21 years on Tuesday at Reading High. Wakefield’s 4-1 win over the Rockets will be followed by two more tough matchups against Lexington today and Melrose on Monday, both at their home Dobbins Courts. (Courtesy Photo)
