Girls Tennis: Blue Waves fall in non-league against Connetquot
THUNDERBIRDS 6, BLUE WAVES 1
Records can be deceiving, especially in a sport like tennis where the top teams in each division are bunched together in one league.
Connetquot arrived in Riverhead Monday afternoon still searching for its first win of the season. The Thunderbirds, at 0-6, were the last winless team in League III, the upper league of Division II, which features some strong competition.
The Thunderbirds finally broke into the win column with a 6-1 non-league victory over the Blue Waves at Riverhead High School.
“They were a balanced team,” said Riverhead coach Jerry Duvall. “They had good volley shots and good serves. Not overpowering, but very steady.”
The lone win for the Blue Waves came at fourth singles with a 6-3, 6-3 win by sophomore Samantha Carter over Jess Breitweg.
Riverhead mixed up its lineup by pairing its top two singles players into a first doubles team. The duo of Charlotte Palmer and Lydia Keiffert lost 6-4, 6-0 in a match that was closer than the second set score would indicate.
It was the third time this season Palmer, a senior, and Keiffert, a junior, played together in doubles.
Only one match in singles went to a third set and that came at third singles. After falling 6-1 in the first set, Michelle Behr bounced back to win 6-1 in the next game. But Mackenzie Martschi of Connequot rallied to win the decisive third set, 6-4.
With Palmer and Keiffer in doubles, senior Alex Quintana got the opportunity to move up to first singles. She lost 6-2, 6-0 against Colleen Moltzen.
The Blue Waves fell to 3-5 overall. They’re 3-4 in League VIII, the lower league of Division IV. Already at the midway point of the league season, the Blue Waves resume the second half of their schedule Thursday at Mattituck.
