Tolland Boys' Tennis squeaks by Manchester

With a sneaky forehand stroke that slipped just above the net, the Tolland boys’ tennis team solidified a dramatic 4-3 win against Manchester High on Friday.

The win was just the fourth of the season for the team, and second in a row after a 4-3 squeaker against Rockville on Wednesday. It didn’t come easy on the home courts, as they won the final two doubles matches of the day to steal the series.

The two sides saved their best for last, as Tolland’s No. 3 doubles team of Corey Richmond and Dan Barkus won the only three-set match of the day, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. The sophomore Richmond wasn’t even slated to start, but the absence of normal starter Ryan Jenkins required his services.

“This is the equivalent of coming off the bench for us and stepping up big,” Tolland head coach David Chassanoff said. “He’s coming from [junior varsity] here.”

By the time the final set of that last match rolled around, members of both teams were off the courts and cheering for every point. That included Tolland’s No. 2 doubles team of sophomores Guneet Josen and Dan Gadoury, who took down their match 6-1, 6-2 to start the Eagles on the comeback trail.

Rounding out the doubles matches, juniors Eric Venezia and Dylan Roman of Tolland continued their league dominance. The tandem took down Manchester’s No. 1 pairing of Husein Jasareviz and Austin Melesko 6-0, 6-1 to jump to an undefeated 13-0 in 2011.

“They told me they really wanted to go 6-0, 6-0,” Chassanoff said. “Obviously they’ll take it. It’s hard. Sometimes you get a team that just serves really well for one or two games. They’ve lost games here and there this season.”

Even though his No. 1 pairing is powering through the league, Chassanoff says that it’s still not guaranteed that they will be together next year. He might need to split them up and move them over to singles for their senior year, because two wins are always better than one.

Over on that singles side, Tolland did not fair as well in the bright afternoon sun. Chassanoff did tout his senior Jesse Aldin, who was the only player in singles for the Eagles who took home a win. Aldin beat Manchester sophomore Samuel Iacobellis in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

“You can’t discount senior leadership,” said Chassanoff.

Elsewhere in singles play, Tolland junior Matt Beidleman lost to junior Paul Maloney 7-5, 6-1. Junior Mathieu Beckius was dropped in straight sets by Manchester co-captain Michael Brophy 6-2, 6-0. Manchester’s Matthew Wilhoft rounded out single play by beating fellow No. 4 player Sam Kim 6-3, 6-1.

Tolland (4-9) will travel to Rocky Hill on Monday. The Eagles are looking for their first 3-game win streak of the season against a team they beat 6-1 at home on April 15.

Meanwhile, Manchester (5-7) heads back home to face Wethersfield on Monday. Both matches will begin at 3:45 p.m.