On Monday, May 16, fighting strong winds and with a sudden change in lineup, the Bromfield girls tennis team fell for the second time this year to Groton-Dunstable, losing 1–4.
First singles Lisa Jorgensen hits a forehand in a match against North Middlesex, May 17. The girls won the meet, leaving them undefeated in league play. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
The team started off with an unusual lineup, changing all the singles players because first singles junior Lisa Jorgensen and second singles sophomore Sarah Moore remained injured from the previous match. By default, first doubles player Ariel Jones-Mollod moved up to first singles because she had beaten third singles senior Allie Wei in the ladder matches, and Wei moved up to second singles. Joanna Young, who occasionally played first doubles, filled the spot left by Jones-Mollod. Then first and second doubles were switched. Eighth-grader Olivia Noyes filled third singles. All these changes meant that even before the matches had started, things were not looking good for Bromfield.
So against Groton-Dunstable’s typically strong lineup, scores started out as expected. First singles Jones-Mollod was overpowered 6–0, 6–0 against Maggie Wertheimer, who usually plays first singles for Groton-Dunstable. Wei almost made a comeback in the second set, but her opponent was more stable and got more balls, leading to a score of 6–2, 6–4. It was a first experience for middle-schooler Noyes, and her opponent, Hannah Barnes, had lower groundstrokes that were hard to return. First doubles Sofia MacLean and Alex O’Neil, who both usually play second doubles and whose coverage of the court was unbalanced, lost 6–0, 6–2.
Sole win
Bromfield’s one win of the day was by second doubles Isabelle Quinn and Joanna Young, who had played together before a couple of times. In their second set, they reversed a 2–5 score and managed to win 6–4, 6–3, keeping Bromfield from being swept altogether.
But even with this unfortunate loss, Bromfield girls still have a 8–0 league record after playing every team in the league (Groton-Dunstable is not in the same league). All of their wins have been clean sweeps, 5–0. Outside the league, Bromfield has lost only two matches, both against Groton-Dunstable. The state championships are still looking like an achievable goal for the Bromfield girls.
Results
Groton-Dunstable, Monday, May 16
- 1st singles: Maggie Wertheimer, Groton-Dunstable def. Ariel Jones-Mollod, Bromfield, 6–0, 6–0
- 2nd singles: Dani Valles, Groton-Dunstable, def. Allie Wei, Bromfield, 6–2, 6–4.
- 3rd singles: Hannah Barnes, Groton-Dunstable, def. Olivia Noyes, Bromfield, 6–1, 6–1.
- 1st doubles: Gabby Siciliano, Meira Tompkins, Groton-Dunstable, def. Sophia MacLean, Alex O’Neil, Bromfield, 6–0, 6–2.
- 2nd doubles: Isabelle Quinn, Joanna Young, Bromfield, def. Brenna McAllister, Katie Shlepphorst, Groton-Dunstable, 64, 63.
Ivy Wang is a Bromfield sophomore.
