On a beautiful Friday afternoon in Lynnfield, the boys tennis team put it all together, besting Amesbury 5-0.
In first singles, Dan Levin won in straight sets (6-0, 6-0). Shea McCarthy did the same in second singles (6-0, 6-0) to give the Pioneers a 2-0 cushion.
“I think I played really well today,” McCarthy said. “I think I can work on a few things still, but overall, I think I did well.”
McCarthy said consistency is a strength of his, all while having a “strong mental game.” And it’s safe to say – Lynnfield fans saw that front and center on Friday.
Though McCarthy said he was having trouble serving, he then resorted to hitting the ball with more topspin, leading to several aces that sealed the deal for him.
“The main goal is to get back to number one singles,” McCarthy said.
To get back there, McCarthy will have to win against teammate Levin, and according to assistant coach Tony Lena, those matches are very competitive in practice.
Head coach Joe Dunn loves the competition from his guys, and how they push each other day in and day out.
“That is the key. I tried to explain that to the team – I want each teammate to help get their teammates better. These two (Levin and McCarthy) are great for each other because they are both high-level players,” Dunn said. “It’s going to be very tough for anyone to beat them in the league. They push each other and you can see they’re both improving.”
Another victorious Pioneer was Shlok Kudrimoti (6-1,6-0). It was his first varsity match, and he didn’t disappoint.
“I was really proud of his performance,” Dunn said. “He was making excellent approach shots [and] staying focused during the match, and that’s probably the highest level I’ve seen him play at because of his focus.”
The Pioneers don’t fall short in the depth category, either.
“I think we have a lot of depth. [In] our second doubles, we have six people who are competing for two positions and they’re all close in level. It’s nice to know that we can change around if we need to,” Dunn said. “It pushes them all to be better players since they all want to play.”
In first doubles, Russell Kasdon and Rafik Khodr won their match (6-0, 6-0), while second doublers Raffi Arkun and Sahil Akhter did the same (6-0, 6-0).
And in the end, Dunn said the goal isn’t just to make the state tournament, but to get over the hump in the finals.
“My ultimate goal is to go to the last match in the tournament and win it this time,” Dunn said. “I give tons of credit to my varsity team over the winter as they put in a lot of hard work… They don’t just want to make it to the final, they want to win it.”
