Stoneham Tennis Teams Look Back on 2012 Season

For the first time in girls' tennis history the team finished the season over .500 (10-9).

The team lost in the opening round of the state tournament to Hamilton-Wenham. Meghan Danis played on the first doubles team with Aiko Laski and recalled her most memorable moment in 2012.

“We faced Hamilton-Wenham and it was an extremely close match,” Danis said. “Aiko Laski and I won our match 6-3, 6-0 and then watched anxiously as third singles Ale Molinaro and second doubles Alexa Federico and Laura Smith battled their way in the tight matches. They both went into third sets and our whole team sat supporting and cheering for them.

"Although we did not win the match, it was one of the hardest fought and exciting matches of the season. I'm glad I have this great lasting memory as my last tennis match at SHS.”

Danis discussed how the team has improved from the beginning of the season all the way through their tournament run.

“We began our season with a few easy wins, but had a slump toward the middle of the season,” Danis said. “However, everyone put their hearts into it during the last two weeks and we had matchups nine out of 10 days due to make-ups from rain. We made a great comeback and beat some valuable teams to put us in a good position going into the tournament.

"I think it was most important that as the season progressed everyone began playing with more heart and dedication. While tennis is a somewhat individual sport, everyone came together, realizing that their own individual matches were very important to the overall team, greatly increasing team unity.”

Danis admitted she will miss the great team chemistry and how the team bonded together for four years.

“We were close this season,” Danis said. “We all had a lot of fun together playing together at practice and everyone is always supportive of each other and truly loves playing.”

Tiffany Lopinsky also recalled her most memorable moment in 2012 when the team defeated Melrose.

“In the past three years that I have played, we were never able to beat them, so finally getting a win against them was a great achievement for us as a team,” Lopinsky said.

Like Danis stated, Lopinsky reiterated that the team became more consistent down the stretch.

“At the beginning of the season, we were still working out a few kinks and everyone was adjusting to their new positions,” Lopinsky said. “As the season went on, everyone became much more confident and that certainly helped us win a few more matches. When we played Wakefield at the beginning of the season we lost 2-3, then we played them again at the end of the season and we won 3-2. It was really evidence of how much we improved.”

“We had such a great team this year and all of the girls and our coach Sarah Mills were really close,” Lopinsky said. “They were all such great people to play with and I am going to miss them so much next year.”

Boys' Tennis Successful in 2012

The Stoneham boys' tennis team finished the season 9-8 and first singles player Brian McSweeney recalled his most memorable moment from 2012.

“Johnny Cail’s three-set win against Lynnfield in the first round of the playoffs,” McSweeney said. “That win was the most exciting high school sporting event I have ever witnessed.”

McSweeney stressed that everyone on the team progressed during the year and every player became “tennis players.”

“We had a team message for every match,” McSweeney said. “Wanting to win became a desire to win. The depth of our team became our strength. Dan Shannon became the go-to guy when someone was not available. Dan covered doubles and singles and he won most of his matches. Without Dan’s preparation, we would not have made the tournament.”

Brad Fagan played first-doubles with Andrew Maganzini and he recalled his most memorable moment was the last tournament match of the year.

“It was the most intense match I have ever played in and even though we lost, I am proud of how well we played, Fagan said.

As the season went on, the matches became more important and Fagan stressed the team was ready for the playoffs.

“We finished second in the Middlesex (League) Small (Division) and we began to focus more,” Fagan said. “Once we entered the tournament we all really zoned in and played very hard.

“I loved all of the guys on the tennis team. We are all pretty good friends outside of tennis anyway so being able to play with those guys makes it more enjoyable and fun.”