Wildcats Drop Contest to North Reading, 4-1

The girls' tennis team lost 4-1 to the North Reading Hornets on Thursday afternoon despite a strong performance at second doubles by team captain Alyssa Fiorentino and senior Courtney See on a unusually cold and windy May afternoon. 

"I am very happy with the effort the girls put in today, and over the past week the team has shown a lot of improvement," said Wilmington coach Kevin Welch. "They are starting to show more confidence when they play."

Sophomore Katie Richardson dropped first singles to North Reading's Kara Lafort, 6-1, 6-2, while sophomore Kristen Tavares also lost her singles match-up with Bailey Gis, 6-1, 6-1. 

"Kristien and Katie both played tough opponents, but I saw them trying to work on the things we have spoken about," said Welch.

Michelle Woods managed to get a few more points against her opponent, but ultimately fell to North Reading's Christina Pappas at third singles, 6-2, 6-3. 

"[The North Reading team] did very well today, and it’s a tough day to play," said Whitney. "It’s cold and windy, so they did very well."

Fiorentino and See defeated North Reading's Christina Beatrice and Kristin Hints at first doubles, locking in the only Wildcat victory of the contest.

"I think [the Wilmington] first doubles team did very well to beat my first doubles team because that was a tough match," said North Reading coach Jane Whitney.

Melanie Flaherty and Delaney Gillis teamed up at second doubles, and although giving the Hornets a run for their money they couldn't take the match. North Reading's Jen Ma and Courtney Russell won the contest, 7 (7-3) -6, 7-4, after a hard-fought battle. 

"Melanie and Delaney lost a close match that could have gone either
way," said Welch. "As a doubles team, they are starting to gel and are playing well together."

With the loss, the Wildcat's record drops to 7-1, while the Hornet's record improves to 4-4. 

Next up, Wilmington will take on Rockport on the road on Monday at 3:30 p.m.