North Branford Boys' Tennis Seeks to Bounce Back from Early Season Losses

The boys' tennis team is in the midst of a rebuilding year, according to Coach Gerry Carlone, but the T-Birds are looking to bounce back from early season losses to secure a .500 record and qualify for the state tournament.

The team is 4-10 after yesterday’s 7-0 loss to Old Saybrook, which puts it one loss away from elimination in the state tournament, which requires a 10-10 record.

North Branford began the season with losses against Valley Regional and Old Lyme, two of the top teams in the Shoreline Conference.

“Our kids lost a little bit of confidence at the start of the season, but now we’re playing some of the middle-of-the-road teams and hopefully the next time around, we’ll be able to beat the stronger teams,” Carlone said.

Thus far, the T-Birds have recorded two wins against both East Hampton (7-0 and 6-1) and Cromwell (5-2 and 4-3) but lost the rest of their matches. The team plays two games against each conference opponent in its 20-game season before the Shoreline Conference Tournament on Memorial Day weekend, which is split into three brackets for singles play and a doubles bracket.

The Thunderbirds look for strong play from their singles lineup of seniors Mike Angeloni and Mike Beavis, junior Scott Jackson and two freshmen, Andy Westwood and Jake Caplan.

“Our No. 1 player is Mike Angeloni and he’s been doing alright," said Carlone. "Mike Beavis is on a winning streak, he’s won four or five matches in a row."

Carlone’s strategy for singles play is “guys need to be consistent, but they also need to hit winners. They have to have controlled aggression. They need to be patient, but I don’t expect them to wait for the opponent to falter. They have to find the opportunity to strike and go for the winning shot.”

Angeloni admits the early season losses have been tough on the team but has confidence in his younger teammates.

“The young players don’t know how to handle the competition against the good opponents [earlier in the season]. We’re trying to win matches against teams we lost to early in the season and finish .500," said Angeloni, who has seen marked improvement in his own play throughout the season. “I’ve done okay. Lately I’ve been playing better than the beginning of the year. I’m trying to get my groove back from last year.”