Lady Raiders Tennis Falls to Concord-Carlisle

The girls’ tennis team’s bid for a second straight upset in the MIAA North Division 2 section fell short at Concord-Carlisle High School on Monday afternoon.

Fresh off beating No. 4 Lynn Classical in the first Roundr the No. 13 Lady Raiders fell 5-0 to the No. 5 Patriots in the Quarterfinals. For C-C, the win was its second sweep of the sectional tournament.

Concord-Carlisle will now move on to face top-seeded and undefeated Winchester High School in the sectional semifinal. The match will be played Wednesday at a location to be announced.

Winchester advanced by defeating No. 8 Belmont High School on Monday afternoon.

“Winchester has one of the best team’s in the state—that’s clear,” Furey said. “Last year, they knocked us out of the tournament. This year, we’re going to knock them out of the tournament.”

For Melrose (11-9), the loss to C-C finishes off what was an otherwise successful season. The Lady Raiders earned a shot at the Patriots (14-4) by recording an upset of No. 4 Lynn Classical in the sectional tournament’s first round.

Melrose faced a tough team and tough crowd in that match, and entered their match against the Patriots looking for another upset.

“My girls played great, we played with style and grace,” Lady Raiders coach Deb Deacon said. “They held their heads high. (C-C) was a better team, no question about it.”

But it wasn’t meant to be. Concord-Carlisle swept all five matches, with none going more than two sets.

In the singles competition, the No. 1 match was taken by the Patriots’ Julia Cancio by a 6-0, 6-0 count over Emma McGowan. Maddy King added another point for C-C at No. 2 with her victory over Sarah McGowan.

The No. 3 singles match was the last one of the day to wrap up. Patriot Katie Driscoll beat Lady Raider Lydia Mays thanks to a tiebreaker victory in the second set. Driscoll won the first set 6-4 and battled back to take the second 7-6 (10-3).

It was more of the same for the Patriots in the doubles portion of the tournament match. At No. 1 Natalie Collins and Stephanie Mundel defeated Charlotte Mays and Olivia Ragon, 6-1, 6-2. In the No. 2 slot, Concord-Carlisle’s Francesca Gentile and Carly McCarthy defeated Melrose’s Natalie Kendall and Julia Mongeau.

“I’m really pleased with this,” Furey said, of how his team is playing during the tournament and when it matters most.

Despite the loss, Deacon said the season was still a success for Melrose. The team will graduate four seniors, include three from the starting lineup, but will be ready by the time next season rolls around.

“We had a great season; I’ve got great kids,” Deacon said. “They are the best kids and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. We get out and we give it our best every day and we win some and we lose some and the rest are rained out.

“With what I saw today … I’m confident about next year. We’ll have some holes to plug, but it won’t be a total loss.”