CHS boys tennis season ends in D2 south quarters

With a 4-1 loss to Westwood on Monday, the Canton High boys tennis team closed the book on a truly memorable spring campaign — one that included a winning record and the team’s first tournament victory in several seasons.

Senior captain Nathan Maltz (MIke Barucci photo)

While it wasn’t the storybook ending they had hoped for, the Bulldogs nevertheless had a lot to be proud of this year as they finished second in the Davenport Division and advanced to the Division 2 sectional quarterfinals as a No. 13 seed in a 16-team bracket.

Canton’s big upset came last Thursday in an opening round matchup against fourth-seeded Dighton-Rehoboth. Despite playing on the road against a team with a better record, the Bulldogs still came out on top.

“We won the match with a score of 3-2, but the score doesn’t exactly tell how well we played against them, being underdogs and traveling an hour to their school,” noted head coach Leo Nelson.

Sophomore Jake Wolicki and senior Nathan Maltz both won hard-fought battles at second and third singles, with Wolicki prevailing 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 and Maltz winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Bulldogs’ first singles player, freshman Jeevith Chandrasekar, also took his opponent to three sets but fell a few points shy in the end with a 6-3 loss.

The difference in the match for Canton came at second doubles, where the newly formed duo of Dan Biggers and Sean Meenan came through with a dominant, 6-0, 6-4 victory.

“They haven’t played together a whole lot, and not having [senior] Jack Mullin with the team for the match they had to form their communication and bond that usually takes time,” said Nelson. “They came out attacking every point and taking the net to win most of their points in the match.”

Nelson said he was thrilled with how the season turned out and couldn’t have asked for a better group of players. “I am extremely proud of the whole team and their hard work, patience on the court, and the determination to win in every match, especially overcoming their opponents when down in the match,” he said.

The Bulldogs finished the season at 11-8 overall, including a 9-7 record in league contests and a 1-1 mark in the playoffs.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jun 10 2016. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.