C-C Girls Tennis Picks up Another Tourney Sweep

With teams from so many leagues converging for the sectional tournament, Concord-Carlisle High School girls tennis coach Bob Furey said it can be difficult to know what to expect from his squad before each match. He’ll certainly take how the Patriots have performed so far.

C-C, the No. 5 seed, recorded its second straight sweep of the MIAA North Division 2 tournament on Monday afternoon, beating No. 13 Melrose High School 5-0 in the Quarterfinal Round at home.

“I was really pleased with the way my girls played today and the way they played last match,” Patriots coach Bob Furey said. “Winning 5-oh, you can’t say much more than that.”

Furey’s team will now move on to face top-seeded and undefeated Winchester High School in the sectional semifinal. The match will be played Wednesday at a location to be announced.

Winchester advanced by defeating No. 8 Belmont High School on Monday afternoon.

“Winchester has one of the best team’s in the stat – that’s clear,” Furey said. “Last year, they knocked us out of the tournament. This year, we’re going to knock them out of the tournament.”

For Melrose (11-9), the loss to C-C finishes off what was an otherwise successful season. The Red Raiders earned a shot at the Patriots (14-4) by recording an upset of No. 4 Lynn Classical in the sectional tournament’s First Round.

Melrose faced a tough team and tough crowd in that match, and entered their match against the Patriots looking for another upset.

“My girls played great, we played with style and grace,” Red Raiders coach Deb Deacon said. “They held their heads high. (C-C) was a better team, no question about it.”

But it wasn’t meant to be. Concord-Carlisle swept all five matches, with none going more than two sets.

In the singles competition, the No. 1 match was taken by the Patriots’ Julia Cancio by a 6-0, 6-0 count over Emma McGowan. Maddy King added another point for C-C at No. 2 with her victory over Sarah McGowan.

The No. 3 singles match was the last one of the day to wrap up. The Patriots’ Katie Driscoll beat Melrose Lydia Mays thanks to a tiebreaker victory in the second set. Driscoll won the first set 6-4 and battled back to take the second 7-6 (10-3).

It was more of the same for the Patriots in the doubles portion of the tournament match. At No. 1 Natalie Collins and Stephanie Mundel defeated Charlotte Mays and Olivia Ragon, 6-1, 6-2. In the No. 2 slot, Concord-Carlisle’s Francesca Gentile and Carly McCarthy defeated Melrose’s Natalie Kendall and Julia Mongeau.

“I’m really pleased with this,” Furey said, of how his team is playing during the tournament and when it matters most.

Despite the loss, Deacon said the season was still a success for Melrose. The team will graduate four seniors, include three from the starting lineup, but will be ready by the time next season rolls around.

“We had a great season; I’ve got great kids,” Deacon said. “They are the best kids and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. We get out and we give it our best every day and we win some and we lose some and the rest are rained out.

“With what I saw today … I’m confident about next year. We’ll have some holes to plug, but it won’t be a total loss.”