Medfield Boys' Tennis Drops Opener in Five Games

The Medfield High School boys' tennis team (0-1, 0-0) fell to a talented Shrewsbury team in five games, 3-2, Thursday. 

"Very even competition against a Central Mass. team that expects to win its league," said Medfield head coach Vinnie Joseph. "[Match] went down to second singles with the score tied 2-2."

The winners for Medfield were Kevin Lynch at three singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory; second doubles team of Matt Kimball and Bennett Palmer with a 6-4, 7-5 victory. 

Medfield opens Tri-Valley League play Friday when the Warriors host Hopkinton. 

Boys' and Girls' Track Fall to Hopkinton

The Medfield High School boys' and girls' track teams opened their 2011 season in Hopkinton on Thursday, falling to the Hillers, 90-46.

"We knew that Hopkinton would be very strong but certainly not yet at the level to which they performed [Thursday]," said MHS boys' head coach Tom Woods. "[Hopkinton] is going to have a tremendous season. As a team, we really could not have done much differently. We did not lose due to lack of effort. Over the course of a season times drop and jumps and throws get farther and higher, thats why
we train."

Woods pointed out the performances of juniors Tim Bernard and Connor Heaney were positives to take away from the first meet.

"Tim Bernard jumped 5-feet, 10-inches in the high jump and over 18 feet in the long jump," Woods said. "These are both personal bests and exciting as we have been looking towards the jumps as an area to improve upon."

Heaney placed in three events: 400m, 800m and the javelin. 

"He popped a 141-foot, 5-inch [toss] in the jav with his first throw," Woods said. "Again, this is exciting as it is an area we need to cultivate. Connor works on his running all year but in between winter and spring seasons, he took particular interest in strengthening his arm for the jav, which clearly has paid off."

Woods said despite the loss, the team remained upbeat and positive. 

"If anything, I think the team had a good attitude coming out of the meet and will be willing to put in more hard work to finish the season at 8-1," said Woods.

On the girls' side, Melinda Lohan was pleased with her team's effort.

"Really nice performances for a first meet, great job," Lohan said. 

Among the standout performances for the Warriors were: Alex Stanton, who placed first in the 400 H at 70.3, first in 100 m hurdles at 15.7 and first in the long jump at 15-feet-11-inches. The 4x100m team of Megan McCordic, Mekenzie Smith, Melissa Newell and Kate Piersiak placed first with a time of 42.7. Kristina Gustafson placed second in the 100m with a time of 13.1 and placed second in the 200m with a time of 27.5. 

The boys' and girls' track teams host Bellingham on Monday at 3:30 p.m.