Girls Tennis: Mercy one win away from undefeated regular season
The Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School girls tennis team is living a charmed life. Not only do the Monarchs have six beautiful brand new courts, which were formally dedicated before their match on Wednesday, but they are now one win away from a second straight undefeated regular season.
League VIII champion Mercy, the only unbeaten team in Suffolk County, pumped its record up to 13-0 (11-0 in the league) with a 6-1 defeat of Center Moriches.
Mercy, which will close out the season on the road against Riverhead on Friday, won Wednesday with a strong showing by its singles lineup. Rose Hayes, Sofia Anzalone, Kelsey Bundrick and Margaret Terry each won their matches in two sets. They lost only four games among them.
Hayes, a seventh-grader, bumped her record up to 11-2 with her 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Kayla Hujber at first singles. She put away 14 winners while committing only four unforced errors and one double fault.
Anzalone (12-0) maintained her unbeaten record, beating her second singles opponent and cousin, Erika Koscinski, 6-1, 6-0. In third singles, Bundrick was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Madison Hujber. The fourth singles match went to Terry, 6-1, 6-1 over Sarah Inzerillo.
Bundrick and Terry are both 12-1.
It was an eventful day for coach Mike Clauberg’s Monarchs, who also celebrated Senior Day. Mercy’s six seniors were recognized before the match and presented by assistant coach Brooke Lessard with flowers and banners commemorating the team’s 2015 and 2016 league championships.
Four of those seniors played on winning doubles teams. Laura Blomberg and Madison O’Connor recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Brittany Romanoff and Hannah Tebbens. Meanwhile, Megan Kuehhas and Shannon O’Brien teamed up for a 6-1, 6-3 win over Alison Hogan and Kaylee Walsh.
The sole team point for Center Moriches (6-7, 6-5) came from its first doubles team of Gabrielle Vailliant and Kaitlyn Vetak. They topped Brooke Kappenberg and Angelika Osiniak, 6-3, 6-2.
Prior to the match, Mercy’s Keith Goodale Memorial Tennis Courts were formally dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included athletic director Melissa Edwards, other school officials and dignitaries, including Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter.
Photo caption: Bishop McGann-Mercy’s Keith Goodale Memorial Tennis Courts were formally dedicated before the team’s match on Wednesday. (Credit: Bob Liepa)
