Manchester-Essex defended homecourt successfully against the boys tennis Magicians, 3-2, on Monday with Marblehead coach Elisabeth Foukal calling it “a close match against a solid dual-town team.”
Senior captain Mika Garber beat Jack Cummins 6-0, 6-0, besting last year’s score by a game; Junior captain Jayden Janock and fellow junior Leo Winocour won their doubles matchup.
“Jayden and Leo came back to force a tie-breaker, which they pulled off after a back-and-forth battle,” Foukal said. “Great doubles play with excellent sportsmanship.”
GIRLS TENNIS
Manchester-Essex 4
Marblehead 1
Marblehead hit the courts against Manchester-Essex, but met its match in a 4-1 final. The Magicians’ lone point came from sophomore Sami Dosch, who defeated Sienna Crocker 7-6, 9-7, and 6-2.
“This was a good first match for us. Manchester is always a competitive match and, as a coach, I really did not know what to expect from the match as we have new players in four of five starting positions,” said Marblehead coach Tracy Ackerman. “A real positive for us was the play of third singles, Sami Dosch. Sami was on varsity last year, but not a starter. She showed great patience and perseverance to win her match. Second doubles and singles also had super close matches. We will definitely learn some things from our losses and, hopefully, build on them and become better.”
BOYS LACROSSE
St. John’s Prep 11
Acton-Boxborough 9
After its Division 1 state championship victory against BC High last spring, you could say the St. John’s Prep lacrosse team still possesses its eye of the tiger.
The visiting Eagles (1-0) defeated Acton-Boxborough, 11-9, to kick off the season in style on Saturday. According to coach John Pynchon, Grayson Ambrosh played a strong defensive game and scored a key goal in the fourth quarter.
Luke Kelly and McCarthy each ripped hat tricks, followed by goal-scorers Ambrosh, Madden McGowan, Jake Vana, Drew Bossi, and Oliver Rosselli. Jack Doherty won eight face-offs, while Austin Kitces made six saves between the pipes.
Talk about a familiar foe. The Prep hosts BC High at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Winchester 11
Marblehead 3
The Marblehead laxmen met their match in game one of the season, falling on the road to Winchester, 11-3, on Saturday. Charlie and Toby Grenier each scored goals and dished out assists, James Bickell found the back of the net, and Drew Nelson picked up an assist.
Marblehead welcomes Newburyport to town at 5 p.m. on Thursday.