Leaving their Falmouth opponents in tears, the Walpole Rebels Girls tennis team finished off an exceptional season with a loss against Newton North on Monday. Opening up the tournament, the Rebels faced the Falmouth Clippers in their first round match and – to the teams’ surprise – they pulled off a 3-2 victory. With the Rebels being ranked 13th in the league and the Clipper’s being ranked 3rd, their victory was suprising and unexpected, leaving the Rebels overjoyed and ready to face Newton North in the quarter-finals.
The girls pulled up to Newton South High School in a big black power van driven by none other than Coach Powers himself. Ready for a good match and still pumped up by their latest victory, they faced Newton North who, unfortunately, proved to be tough opponents. First singles player and junior Jordanna Rosen put up a good fight with her killer serves but in the end lost to Newton North’s first singles player. The story was the same for both the Rebels’ second and third singles players (seniors Carolyn Cawley and Julia Frankel) who both suffered losses by the power lineup of Newton North’s singles players. While first doubles junior Alex Barmakian and sophomore Meg Anchuikaitis put up a fight and played a great match, they fell short against Newton North and left the second doubles team to duel it out.
Sadly, once Frankel left the courts all hope was lost for a Rebel victory. However, the remaining doubles team hoped to walk away with some form of victory over these brutal opponents. Second doubles players and sophomores Paige Hagopian and Lauren Kemple did just that. With a match as intense as it gets, the girls played three sets and finally sealed their fate when Newton North hit a serve straight into the net, giving Walpole’s second doubles the win they deserved.
The Walpole girl’s tennis team has had an unexpectedly sucessful season this year and the advance into the second round of the tournament was a pleasant suprise to long time coach Mr. Powers. With the loss of ony three senior starters, next year is full of promise for this talented group of girls.
