They lost three of the top six, including No. 1, from last year’s Division I runner-up team. Then they lost their season opener and two of their first four matches. But the girls on the Concord High tennis team never stopped fighting.
“If there’s one thing this team has it’s a lot of heart,” said Rebecca Killinger, the Crimson Tide’s assistant coach. “And they’ve definitely surprised us by getting this high in the rankings.”
Concord’s 6-3 win at Winnacunnet (9-4) on Wednesday was the third win in three days for the Tide and pushed its record to 10-3 with one game left on the schedule: at Pinkerton (8-4) on Friday. Concord currently sits in fifth in D-I, but fourth-place Derryfield (11-2) plays 12-1 Manchester Central in its final match, so the Cougars and Tide could both finish 11-3.
“This was an important win,” Killinger said of the decision against Winnacunnet. “This gives us a good chance at the No. 4 spot in the playoffs, but we still need to beat Pinkerton.”
Like they have all season, the girls on the lower half of the ladder dominated for Concord. Olivia Cattabriga, the Tide’s most improved player, claimed the first win of the day with an 8-1 decision at No. 4 to give Concord some early momentum. No. 5 Sabrina Hart-Meyer won 8-1 and No. 6 Irene Escobar won 8-1.
“I can’t stress enough about four, five and six doing their job every single match,” Killinger said. “They don’t necessarily play the toughest players, but they are just like robots – they go out and they get it done and it’s usually decisive. So we’ve really been counting on the bottom half of the ladder a lot.”
The Tide also got an 8-4 win at No. 1 from Becky Cistulli, who, “remained patient against a very hard hitter and really picked it up in the second half of the set,” Killinger said. The fourth singles win was a display of the heart that has helped define this Concord team.
After enduring a two-hour match in Monday’s 7-2 win at Bishop Guertin, No. 3 Colleen Casey pulled out another marathon win on Wednesday with an 8-4 decision against Winnacunnet.
Concord’s lone doubles win came on the first court as Cistulli and Alex Killinger teamed up for an 8-5 win. The two were down 5-0 before they started moving more at the net and playing the kind of aggressive doubles it takes to win at the higher levels.
“Sometimes to get Becky to cross over (at the net) you have to put a rope around her, but when they were down 5-0 Becky told Alex they shouldn’t be losing and that’s when they really started crossing over,” Coach Killinger said.
The second and third doubles teams were not Concord’s regular combinations because Casey had to leave early for a National Honor Society event. So the Tide may not have swept to a dominating victory, but the team took care of business as it looks to make another run in the D-I tournament.
“We’re really proud of them,” Killinger said.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 368-3341 or at tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20)
From coaches’ reports
Trinity 6, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Brady – Sydney Herrington (8-0 win at No. 1 singles), Yolanda Wang (9-7 win at No. 4 singles)
Highlights/key moments: Wang won the match of the day for the Green Giants against a tenacious opponent from Trinity. Herrington and Ravalike Damerla won 8-1 at first doubles.
Coach’s quote: “The well-coached Trinity team had too much depth and experience for our young team.” – Brady’s Lee Herrington
Records: Bisho Brady 4-8; Trinity 6-7
Oyster River 9, Pembroke 0
Key players: Nicole Carr (loss at No. 1 singles), Emmi Ferrara (loss at No. 2)
Highlights/key moments: Both teams competed in their last match of the season. Oyster River finished the year winning five of its last six.
Coach’s quote: “This was senior day for Nicole Carr at No. 1 and Emmi Ferrara at No. 2. They played all four years for us.” – Pembroke’s David Goulet
Records: Pembroke 1-11; Oyster River 9-5
Bow 8, Profile 1
Key players: Bow – Laura Zheblik (8-3 win at No. 1 singles), Nandita Kasireddy (9-8 win at No. 2), Casey Day (8-3 win at No. 3), Claire Mulvaney (8-1 win at No. 4), Julia Currier (8-2 win at No. 6), Zheblik/Mulvaney (8-6 win at No. 1 doubles), Day/Currier (8-4 win at No. 2), Kasireddy/Sarah Zecha (8-0 win at No. 3)
Highlights/key moments: Kasireddy came back from a 4-1 deficit in the No. 2 singles to win, winning the tiebreaker 7-5.
Coach’s quote: “The girls all played well, but the story today was Nandita coming back from being down 4-1 to win in a tie-breaker. The girl from Profile was an exchange student who was an exceptionally strong number two player. Nandita showed great determination and grit. She really had to dig deep for the win.” – Bow’s Jonsey Rainville
Records: Bow 13-0; Profile 11-1
Concord 9, Winnacunnet 0
Key players: Concord – Justin Toler (8-4 win at No. 1 singles), Aidan Connor (9-7 win at No. 2), Adam Bryant (8-2 win at No. 3), Sebastian Hart-Meyer (8-3 win at No. 4), Matt Chorlian (8-4 win at No. 5), Eli Frydman (8-6 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: Frydman, a senior, was tied at 6-6 before winning the last two games in his final home regular-season match. Toler and Connor played well at the net in their first doubles match to claim an 8-4 win against a team that reached the semifinals of last year’s doubles tournament. Hart-Meyer and Chorlian won 8-1 at second doubles while Bryant and Kevin Neary won 8-1 at third doubles.
Coach’s quote: “We showed good improvement in beating a playoff-bound Winnacunnet team.” – Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Concord 12-1; Winnacunnet 9-4
Souhegan 6, Coe-Brown 3
Key players: Coe-Brown – Tyler Holman (8-4 singles win), Jared Carlson and Tom Mellor (8-6 doubles win)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears spot in the top four of D-II is in jeopardy after this road loss and with just two matches remaining. Not only did Holman find the only singles win for Coe-Brown, he also teamed with Nate Griffiths for an 8-2 doubles win.
Records: Coe-Brown 10-3; Souhegan 9-3
Kearsarge 7, Berlin 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Tucker Valovic (8-2 win at No. 2 singles), Jack Van Etten (8-2 win at No. 3), Matt Hubley (8-4 win at No. 5), Sam Williamson (8-2 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: Valovic led the Couagrs to a 4-2 lead after singles as he, “played the best I’ve seen him play,” Kearsarge Coach Lynn Miller said. Williamson and Sam Bourcier earned the match-clinching point with an 8-4 win at third doubles. Tucker and Tyler Valovic won 8-6 at first doubles and Van Etten and Charlie O’Connor won 8-6 at second doubles.
Coach’s quote: “We pulled out the win at the end, but there are still a lot of things we need to work on.” – Keararge’s Miller
Records: Kearsarge 10-2; Berlin 4-10
Bow 5, Profile 4
Key players: Bow – Evan Alfano (9-7 win at No. 2 singles), Mike Mullen (8-3 win at No. 3), Jack Olson (8-5 win at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: After splitting in singles, the Falcons won the second and third doubles matches to pull out the road win. Mullen and Aditya Shah claimed an 8-5 decision at No. 2 doubles while Owen Molind and Olson won 8-5 at third doubles.
Records: Bow 12-1; Profile 9-4