Bulldog tennis teams combine for 5 W’s

In their busiest week of the season to date, the Canton High boys tennis team thrust itself right back into the MIAA postseason hunt with three straight shutout victories in a three-day span.

Junior captain Jake Wolicki (Mike Barucci photo)

Led by their sensational No. 1 singles player, junior captain Jake Wolicki, the Bulldogs cruised to wins over Taunton, Stoughton and Oliver Ames to climb into third place in the Hockomock Davenport Division. Even with Thursday’s 4-1 loss to King Philip, the team remains right in the thick of things at 5-6 overall with five matches still to play.

Their female counterparts, meanwhile, also had a productive week on the court, notching wins over both Stoughton (5-0) and Milford (3-2). The lady Bulldogs, at 3-8, still have a bit more ground to make up but have been steadily improving after a rougher than expected start to the season.

In terms of individual performances, Wolicki was almost perfect on the week as he went 4 for 4, winning every match in straight sets and dropping only five games combined out of 41 played. He also had the team’s lone win against KP, barely breaking a sweat against the Warriors’ top singles player in a 6-0, 6-1 rout.

“Jake has shown steady improvement throughout the year,” remarked head coach Leo Nelson, “and the two losses that he has had he learned from and grew as a player. He is a constant leader for the team and I am looking forward to seeing him compete at the individual state tournament May 13 and 14.”

Other standout performers for the boys team last week included junior captain Justin Diep, who won twice at third singles and once at second singles, all in straight sets, and sophomore Jeevith Chandrasekar, who won second singles matches over Taunton and Stoughton, 6-2, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-0.

The Bulldogs also got a boost from the return of captain Dillon Anderson, who had missed a few matches while participating in this year’s German Exchange program. Anderson slid back into his role in the first doubles pairing, and together with Aidas Jakubenas they won three straight matches, including a three-set marathon against their Taunton opponent. At second doubles, Charlie Molloy was the constant in the team’s three consecutive victories, winning twice with Jake Troderman and once with Collin Doria when Troderman slid into third singles (and won 6-0, 6-0).

As for the girls team, head coach Joel Chamberlain said he could not have been more pleased with the way the team played over an “exhausting” four-match stretch last week.

Multiple winners for the Bulldogs included Emma Sokolovsky at first singles, Kiki Karavas at third singles, and the all-freshman duo of Stelina Michaelidis and Sarah Hernandez at second doubles. Senior Julia Burkowsky also had a pair of wins at first doubles — including one with Jena Moyle and one with Caitlin Matthews. Sophomore Jamie Cree also picked up a win last week in the Stoughton match, defeating her second singles opponent 6-2, 6-1.

“I am seeing a lot of promise in this team, a lot of fight and willingness to listen for ways to improve,” said Chamberlain. “I’m looking forward to playing a few tough opponents this week — perennial league powerhouses North Attleboro and Foxboro.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 12 2017. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.