The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School tennis team stormed through the first round of the state championship playoffs, delivering a crushing shutout to the Gloucester High School Fisherman, 5-0 on the High School’s Fennessy courts on Friday.
In singles play, senior captain Zak Potter set a steady tone, controlling the pace of play for a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Gloucester’s Shane Widtfeldt. Fellow senior captain Caleb Dubin followed with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 shutout against Fisherman Julian Nixon, and senior Kent Kleeman completed the singles sweep, defeating Trey Bushfield 6-1, 6-3.
On the doubles courts, the Vineyard were equally dominant. Junior Tommy Flynn and senior Kyle Levy overwhelmed Gloucester’s Sam Young and Ethan Paris, securing a 6-0, 6-0 shutout. Last to finish, duo Nate Walsh and Henry Wansiewicz sealed the match and full sweep with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Fisherman Jackson Weber and Henry Harrison.
“From day one when I stepped on the court with them, they wanted to win states and this is our year,” said head coach Nicole Macy to the Times after the match.
This is the Vineyard boys tennis team’s fourth year making a run for states, with the team appearing in the final four three times prior, only to be knocked out.
“This is a really cohesive group,” said Macy. “They feel like family to me and we are just excited; taking it one day at a time, one step at a time, one point at a time.”
“I graduated 9 out of 15 this year so next year will be a rebuilding year for sure,” she added.
For coach Macy, who has come into a team that already had their eyes on the prize from day one, the confidence does not come from believing, it comes from experience.
“The confidence comes from having seen them do it already, and seeing how committed they are to doing it. They are just great humans,” she said.
In similar fashion to the Islands swim team’s preparations for post-season, Macy brought in seven strong adult players from the Islands tennis community to challenge the boys and prepare them for the grittiness of a state run.
“They gave them a run for their money,” said Macy. “The tennis community really is a community here on Island, knowing that we needed extra competition I knew we could reach out to this great group of people we have here and everyone had a good time so its good for them and the boys.”
Next up on the boys’ hitlist is the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School Crusaders, on Monday June 2 at 3:00 p.m. at the High Schools Fennessy Courts.
