Girls’ tennis takes 2 out of 3; Nannery eliminated

The CHS girls’ tennis team went 2-1 last week, putting their record at 9-5 with three matches remaining. With wins against Mansfield and Oliver Ames and a loss against Foxboro, the squad is looking strong as they head toward tournament time.

Erika Nannery (Mike Barucci photo)

The first match of the week, on the road against Mansfield last Tuesday, was a 3-2 victory for the Bulldogs. The Nannery sisters continued to show their dominance with commanding victories over their opponents. Sophomore Erika defeated her opponent 6-0, 6-1, while senior Micaela won her match 6-4, 6-1. The second doubles duo of juniors Eleni Papadopoulos and Pujitha Ganni took home another win in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.

Two days later, the girls dominated their match against Oliver Ames with a 5-0 shutout. Due to a late start, the matches were played as ten-game pro sets — the first player to win ten games wins the match. The new format suited Canton well. Erika Nannery’s competition didn’t stand a chance as she won all ten games to claim the victory.

At second singles, Micaela Nannery won her second match of the week, 10-4. The first doubles team of juniors Kristen Burns and Aimee Pina volleyed to a 10-4 victory as well, while Papadopoulos and Ganni won 10-3 at second doubles.

The highlight of the match, however, came in third singles. Junior Jude Altabbaa was down 7-4 but battled back to win it 10-7. Coach Bill Kates, emphasizing her perseverance, said, “Jude deserves credit for an incredible comeback.”

Unfortunately, the last match of the week against Foxboro did not go as well. With a 4-1 loss to the Warriors, the sole victory of the day went to Papadopoulos and Ganni. According to Kates, they were the “stars of the match” with their 6-3, 6-0 win. He also highlighted the play of Burns and Pina, who had a 5-2 first-set lead, but ultimately lost 5-7, 6-7 in a very close match.

Also of note this week was the continuation of the south sectional individual tournament at Old Rochester High School. Erika Nannery represented CHS and made it to the final eight. Winning her first match 6-3, 6-2 over her opponent from Nauset, Nannery ultimately fell to Cohasset’s Emma Davis, who, just the week before, had taken her sister Micaela out of contention.

Kates said he was very proud of Erika, who battled exertion asthma during the tournament but still managed to gut it out for a very respectable showing. “I’m really proud of what Erika accomplished today,” he said. “What she did qualifies her for All-Scholastic recognition from the Boston Globe.”

This week, the girls were scheduled to wrap up the regular season with matches against Stoughton on Monday, Franklin on Tuesday, and King Philip on Wednesday in the Hockomock crossover.

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Posted by Holly Erickson on May 23 2012. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.