Woonsocket suffers 5-2 loss in opener against Coventry
kcsports@ricentral.com
COVENTRY — Monday’s Division III tennis match between Coventry and Woonsocket, won 5-2 by the Oakers, represented a series of firsts for both teams.
For Coventry (1-3), the victory was not only their first of the year, but their first since dropping down from D-II, while for the Villa Novans (0-1), Monday’s match was the first time they faced an opponent in 2018 after enduring a number of postponements.
The afternoon began in atypical fashion, with Coventry’s top singles player, Savannah Iasimone, retiring midway through the opening set against Woonsocket’s Holly Letourneau, who was leading 4-0 at the time.
“She pulled something, maybe in her leg, but we’ll see. We’ll see if she’s ready for the rest of the week,” Oaker head coach Tiffany Risch said.
As a whole, Risch was proud of the way her team played after they had dropped their first three contests to North Providence, Rodgers and Tiverton.
“It was a good team win. Everybody pulled through. Some kids went down and kind of had to dig back. They played tough,” she said.
Down 1-0 off the bat, the Oakers swept each of their remaining singles matches to grab a commanding 3-1 lead. Danielle Mattias topped Diana Kouki, 6-1, 6-2, while Alex Brock beat Claudine Wehbe by a reverse score, 6-2, 6-1.
Coventry’s Emma Lemoi and Woonsocket’s Tianna Carpenter had the match of the day, with Lemoi edging out a three-set win (6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8)), giving her team an important point.
An early break in the third set saw Lemoi serving at 4-3 with a chance to put the match on ice. After falling behind 0-40, she managed to string together four consecutive points to grab a 5-3 lead, but it would be Carpenter answering back with a break of her own after holding serve to even the score, 5-5. Each side would hold in their next service games, setting up a third-set breaker to determine a winner.
The tiebreaker, much like the match as a whole, went down to the wire, with Lemoi taking four of the final six points to win 10-8.
“We never know what we’re up against. We just moved down to D-III, so we’re kind of coming in blind sighted, but we make sure to put our best foot forward and play our hardest every time,” Risch said.
In the doubles matches, Coventry, needing only one win to secure a team victory, managed to come away with two.
Emily Flannary and Natalie Wang were able to keep Woonsocket’s slim comeback chances alive with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jessica Koszela and Ava Mei at second doubles, but the remaining two matches went in the home team’s favor. Annie Webb and Grace Fernandes clinched the match with a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 win at first doubles over Rushie Vilane and Sainab Jackson, while the third doubles team consisting of Sarah Bryson and Jackie Brodueur prevailed over Rachnie Iv and Amaya Tayachock, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6).
While they did not come away with the win, Woonsocket head coach Staci Rapko was encouraged by what she saw out of her team, one in which Letourneau and Kouki are the only seniors.
“It was good. They worked hard,” she said. As for the year that lies ahead, Rapko sees no reason why her team would not be able to vie for a postseason spot.
“I think we’re going to look pretty good. They’re going to be learning a lot because they will be playing so much because we have so many matches to make up,” Rapko said.
The Villa Novans are set to face Tiverton tomorrow at Cumberland’s Tucker Field, while the Oakers hope the weather holds today as they prepare to make it back to back victories with a win over Times 2 Academy.
PAWTUCKET – Despite yielding archrival Tolman a point at No. 3 doubles due to a lack of depth, Shea High managed an exciting 4-3 Division III triumph at the Oak Hill neighborhood’s Tom Duffy Courts on Monday afternoon.
Junior Sophia Panzo claimed the first point with a 6-0, 6-1 blowout of senior Sarah Colson at the top singles spot, while classmate Erika DaCruz rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 verdict over senior Stephanie Harwood at No. 4.
In between, however, the Tigers snared a couple of tough bouts, with junior Victoria Chmielewski gaining a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 decision over senior Anike Fernandes at No. 2; and senior Taina Rodriguez a 6-4, 7-5 battle over Elizabeth Ahwireng at the third.
The No. 2 duet of Brianna Andrade and Sarah Mateo took the third point, and the tandem of Esperanza Rivera and Evy Chapman eked out a wild 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Gina Carpentier and Zoe Williams to lift the Raiders to 2-2.
Singles: Sophia Panzo (S) def. Sarah Colson, 6-0, 6-1; Victoria Chmielewski (T) def. Anike Fernandes, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Taina Rodriguez (T) def. Elizabeth Ahwireng, 6-4, 7-5; Erika DaCruz (S) def. Stephanie Harwood, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles: Esperanza Rivera-Evy Chapman (S) def. Gina Carpentier-Zoe Williams, 7-5, 7-6 (5); Brianna Andrade- Sarah Mateo (S) def. Alexis Taylor-Valaria Alvarado, 6-2, 6-4; Kim Baptista- Amanda Afriyieb (T) won by forfeit.