Before singles play was over, the third-seeded Kearsarge boys’ tennis team already had its backs against the wall. One more loss would seal the match and eliminate the Cougars from the Division III playoffs.
It didn’t take long for their fate to be decided, a 7-2 licking at the hands of Inter-Lakes, but the two seniors that remained on the court extended their games into tiebreakers, erasing any sour spirits that might have been felt on the sidelines.
On one court, Kearsarge No. 6 singles player Sam Williamson battled with Laker Gable Busby to a 7-5 win in the extra game, keeping the Cougars’ hopes of an improbable comeback alive.
A mere 30 feet away, on the lower set of courts, Kearsarge captain and No. 3 player Jack Van Etten was in a fight of his own against Ben Jaquis. Van Etten kept pressing forward, trying to gain the net, and he did in many sets. Their match also ended 7-5, but Jaquis came out on top, giving Inter-Lakes a 5-1 win and punching its ticket to the championship round, where it will face No. 1 Gilford.
The captain’s match ended as Van Etten approached the net to defend a shallow hit, but didn’t connect with the ball where he wanted, sending it into the net a few feet in front of him.
It was a mistake either player could have made as the two were running out of gas in the day’s longest game – about 90 minutes of nearly continuous play.
“I was just locked-in and all the points started to blur together,” Van Etten said. “Once we hit tiebreaker, it was just point-by-point.”
“He was fighting to get that point for us, no question” said Kearsarge Coach Lynn Miller, wrapping up her first year with the program.
A few minutes after stepping off the court, Van Etten was stepping back on with his doubles partner, O’Connor. The duo sealed a quarterfinals win for Kearsarge against Portsmouth Christian at Dover on Tuesday, but lost Thursday, 8-3, in the second spot.
“Charlie, I love him to death – he’s super enthusiastic and I thought he would be tired too, but he was ready to go and picked me up,” Van Etten said with a laugh.
Tyler Valovic (No. 1, 8-1), Tucker Valovic (No. 2, 8-0), Charlie O’Connor (No. 4, 8-4) and Matt Hubley (No. 5, 8-4) also lost in singles for Kearsarge.
Miller gathered the players for a quick talk before doubles took the court. The match had already been decided, but the team wasn’t ready to go home. Williamson and sophomore Matt Hubley earned the Cougars their second win on the day, 8-4.
Miller took over the program this year and has already taken the Cougars to their first playoff berth since 2011. Kearsarge finished the season 12-3, a convincing improvement over 2015’s 6-8 record.
“Coach Lynn was incredibly committed to the team this entire season,” Van Etten said. “Some players may have preferred the more relaxed atmosphere from before … but we couldn’t have done any of this if she wasn’t here.”
The Valovic brothers (8-3) dropped the first doubles match.
After the game, Miller said she wanted this team to make the playoffs. The Cougars ended up not only making the playoffs, but surviving the first round. Next, Miller hopes they can make a case as a championship contender next season, where they have four starting players returning.
“My goal was to reach the playoffs, and it had been a while,” Miller said. “Now, maybe we can go a round or two.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3314, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
From coaches’ reports
Bow 1, Conant 0
Key players: Bow – Brendan Winch (9 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 3 Ks), Austin Beaudette (RBI single), Jack Corriveau (run)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons struck when Corriveau got on board, advanced on a groundout and scored on Beaudette’s two-out single. That was all the support necessary for Winch, who allowed two runners in the first and then shut down the Orioles.
Records: Bow 11-4; Conant 14-2
Winnisquam 7, Fall Mountain 2
Key players: Winnisquam – Josh Shevelin (3-for-4, 3 RBI), Jack Decormier (2 hits, 2 RBI), Christian Serrano (2 hits, run), Devin Martinez (5 IP, 5 K, 3 hits, Win)
Highlights/key moments: Fall Mountain scored in the top of the first, but Winnisquam tied it in the second and took the lead for good with a four-run third inning.
Records: Winnisquam 8-7; Fall Mtn. 7-8
Winnisquam 8, Franklin 1
Key players: Winnisquam – Jake Snow (3-for-4, double, 2 RBI), Christian Serrano (2-run double, run), Hunter Tierney (5 IP, 8 K, 1 ER, Win)
Highlights/key moments: In the second game of Winnisquam’s double-header, the Bears scored two in the first, highlighted by Tim Harmon stealing home, and one in each of the second and fourth before Franklin scored its lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Winnisquam added four more in the fifth inning.
Coach’s quote: “It was very hot today and I give a lot of credit to our catcher Bryce Corey. … We also played error-free baseball in all 14 innings after committing eight errors in one inning in our last game.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
Records: Winniquam 9-7; Franklin 9-7
Kearsarge 4, Newport 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Brad Underhill (7 IP, 2 K, 2 ER, Win), Joe Storozuk (double, RBI, walk), Gabe Benedict (Sac fly), Levi Wilson (good defense)
Highlights/key moments: Kearsarge scored on in the first and three in the third. The Cougars surrendered two runs in the top of the seventh, but were able to hang on for the win.
Coach’s quote: “Great way to head into the playoffs. The kids have played their hearts out day in and day out to end up 9-7.” – Kearsarge’s Travis Pelletier
Records: Kearsarge 9-7; Newport 4-12
Pittsfield 15, PCA 6
Key players: Pittsfield – Cam Darrah (2 hits, 4 runs), Jesse Slater (2 hits, 4 runs), Casey Clqark (2 hits, 3 RBI), Noah McGlashing (triple, double), Kyle Hammel (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield had an 11-run third inning to go up 12-1, then added two more in the fifth.
Coach’s quote: “We swung the bat really well tonight. Hopefully we can carry that into the playoffs.” – Pittsfield’s Rob Stockman
Records: Pittsfield 7-9; PCA 12-4
Franklin 5, Winnisquam 4, 9 inn.
Key players: Franklin – Kaylee Marshe (9 IP, 11 K) Hanne Nichols (hit, RBI, run), Ryley Haskins (hit, RBI), Breanna Styles (hit, RBI); Winnisquam – Cailey Clogston (2 hits, 3 RBI, run), Lindsay Raymond (2 hits), Emily Decormier (hit, RBI) Molly Tinker (2 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs)
Highlights/key moments: With the game tied 2-2 after seven innings, both teams scored two in the eighth. Winnisquam had two outs and was up one, but a changeup in the dirt got away from the catcher, allowing the tying run to get in. Franklin’s Rachael Capri got to second in the ninth after a passed ball, and Hailey Haskins lined the ball over the third baseman for the game-winning hit.
Coach’s quote: “We played 26 innings in about 24 hours, beating two good teams and being an out away from winning a third game. We’re playing decent softball going into the playoffs.” – Winnisquam’s Kevin Dame
Records: Franklin 15-1; Winnisquam 9-7
Winnisquam 1, Fall Mountain 0
Key players: Winnisquam – Cailey Clogston (hit, run), Marissa Deblaise (sac fly), Molly Tinker (7 IP, 3 K, 2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: In the third inning, Clogston singled and advanced to second on a sac bunt. After reaching third on a wild pitch, Deblaise drove her home with a sac fly.
Records: Winnisquam 8-7; Fall Mtn. 6-10
Newport 12, Kearsarge 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Farrah Wilson (hit), Sammi Dow (hit), Ashley Thompson (6 IP, 3 K; hit), Emily Folcik (hit)
Records: Kearsarge 5-11; Newport 11-5
John Stark 19, Pembroke 10
Key players: John Stark – Drew McQuarrie (6 goals, assist), Jake Blanchette (6 goals), Ryan Gordon (3 goals, 3 assists), Nick Aleksonis (2 goals, assist), Steven Medvetz (2 goals), Ethan Vezina (13 saves); Pembroke – Pat Berry (3 goals, assist), Glenn Dion (4 goals, assist), Logan Young (2 assists), Kam Anderson (3 goals)
Coach’s quote: “The teams were hungry and stayed motivated. That’s a quality team that had a nose for the cage.” – Pembroke’s Tim Vasconcellos
Records: John Stark 7-7; Pembroke 5-9
Laconia 15, Coe-Brown 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Jacob Switzer (31 saves), Ben Heyliger (goal), Jack Percy (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Facing the No. 1 team in Division III, Coe-Brown was able to put forth a good effort on its senior day. Switzer highlighted the day with his unprecedented 31 saves on 46 shots on net.
Coach’s quote: “The seniors built this program. We’re graduating 13 seniors after having none last year, and we have come a long way since last year.” – Coe-Brown’s Ryan Hanavan
Records: Coe-Brown 2-12; Laconia 14-0
Kearsarge 14, Stevens 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Lucas Muzzey (3 goals, 2 assists), Austin Hogancamp (2 goals), Cody Best (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: Seven players scored at least one goal for Kearsarge
Coach’s quote: “It was great to see so many players get involved in the offense today.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 12-2; Stevens 1-13
Merrimack Valley 12, Kennett 9
Key players: MV – Warren Campbell (3 goals, assist), Alex Lacy (3 goals, assist), Dylan Arrant (2 goals, 2 assists), Chris Carmichael, Evan Martin (goal, 2 assists apiece), Chase Garcia (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: MV opened the game with five straight goals in the first and took a 9-2 lead into halftime.
Records: MV 8-6; Kennett 3-11
John Stark 9, Kingswood 7
Key players: John Stark – Jillian Douzanis (2 goals, 2 assists), Lizzie Brandt (2 goals), MacKenzie Nase (good defense), Sam Porter (10 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Stark fell behind 3-2 about ten minutes into the first half, but rallied to score four goals and took a 6-3 lead at halftime, highlighted by Liz Neal’s goal with five seconds left. Kingswood scored twice, but Stark answered with goals by Emily Edwards, Rylee Ledoux and Olivia Sohl to secure the win.
Coach’s quote: “The girls really gave it their all for a great win.” – John Stark’s John Warner
Records: John Stark 10-4; Kingswood 7-6
Winnacunnet 17, Merrimack Valley 5
Highlights/key moments: MV finished its season with a nine-game losing streak, winning its last game over Spaulding on May 2.
Records: MV 1-13; Winnacunnet 11-5