Generals Sweep Lowell Catholic, 5-0, Advance to Face No. 1 Fenwick

On paper, ninth seeded 5-0 victory over the eighth seeded Crusaders of Lowell Catholic might have seemed like an upset, but don't tell that to Claudia Hawkes.

For the second year girls' tennis coach, the Generals' victory on Saturday at Callery Park in Lowell was something she expected out of the team.

"I think in reality the seedings were a little out of whack," said Hawkes, who believed that despite the seeding difference, her squad had been forged by stronger opponents in the Cape Ann League. 

"We were ready for this match today, and the girls did very well. I'm excited we've gotten past the first round."

With the year already an improvement over their 2010 first round defeat at the hands of Bedford, Hawkes and her girls will now head to Peabody to face the first seeded , although she believes that the Generals have a decent chance at victory there as well.

"You always have to respect the first seed, but we're in a tougher league," said Hawkes on Bishop Fenwick. "I'm not entirely sure their seed is accurate in my opinion, but they could be really good."

Like Lowell Catholic, Bishop Fenwick is also in the Central Catholic League. 

The Generals got onto the board first with first doubles, as Christina Belezos and Katharine Heffernan made quick work of Lauren Jendrock and Melinda Mara, 6-1, 6-1, the same score which Caroline Gribbell defeated Lowell Catholic's Kathryn Rindo in the second singles match. 

With a 2-0 Hamilton-Wenham lead, foreign exchange student Valerie Becker-Hussong forced tiebreakers in two consecutive sets to deny Hamilton-Wenham's Charlotte Horton the honor of clinching the contest in the first singles contest, but while the top singles dueled on the first court, the Generals earned their team victory from the second doubles match.

There Caroline Flores and Allie Whelan defeated Monica Modrich and Grace Ciampa 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 to clinch the victory. 

Despite the mathematical impossibility of victory, both coaches allowed the third singles match to take place where Hamilton-Wenham's Lily Shiland defeated Lowell Catholic's Rebecca McCarthy 7-5, 6-3 in what was McCarthy's final match as a high school player.

For Lowell Catholic head coach Ed Supranant, McCarthy's eagerness to play one last match symbolized the spirit his club showed during a season that began while there was still snow on the ground.

"I expected my girls to play like always, with a lot of character," said Supranant. "We came back often this year, and while we weren't able to do that today, the girls still had alot of character and I was proud of them."

Shortly before McCarthy's final match concluded, Horton finally closed out Becker-Hussong, 7-6, 5-7(10-4), 6-0. 

"That's just been (Becker-Hussong's) mode all year," said Supranant. "She just does not quit. Sometimes the mind just tells you that you're too tired to go on and that you should just quit, but that's not the case with that kid." 

Lowell Catholic finishes the year 11-9 while Hamilton-Wenham is now 9-6.