The Bromfield girls tennis team won its MIAA Central Division 3 quarterfinal in an away match against Grafton, 3–2, Saturday, June 3. The narrow victory followed two regular season games in which the Trojans first lost their match against Wachusett on the Bromfield home court Wednesday, May 24, ending a 10-game winning streak, but then redeemed themselves with a win against a strong North Middlesex team Friday, May 26.
Traditionally a Division 1 powerhouse, Wachusett was a challenging opponent for the Trojans, who had not played the Mountaineers in several years. The game of the day was first singles, where senior and captain Lisa Jorgensen played her best match of the year, according to Coach Chris Holmes, winning first singles 6–2, 6–3 against a very strong opponent. The rest of the matches were close, but losses. Eighth-grader Leimalia Tratnyek lost her first set completely but came back and won the second set 5–7. Unfortunately, her full comeback was blocked as she lost the super tiebreaker in the third set 10–5. In second doubles, senior Joanna Young and sophomore Olivia Noyes also nearly made a comeback by bringing their second set to a tiebreaker after losing their first, but lost the tiebreaker 7–4. First doubles was a very hard match, being against the second best doubles team in Central Mass.
The match against North Middlesex two days later was played indoors due to rain and thus played in eight-game pro sets because of the time restrictions. Seniors and captains Jorgensen and Ariel Jones-Mollod were missing that day, so eighth-grader Tratnyek had to step up to first singles, where she won the deciding set 8–1. The final match score was 3–2.
The Saturday quarterfinal match against Grafton was the first round of district competition for the Trojans. Seeded fifth among 16 teams, the Trojans had received a first round bye. Their opponent, Grafton, was seeded fourth, so Bromfield’s 3–2 victory was a small upset. Furthermore, Grafton beat Bromfield last year in the semifinal round, so winning was “a good feeling,” said one team member. “The match was very individually based,” said Coach Holmes in a postgame interview. Each match was extremely close, with the exception of first doubles where Jones-Mollod and sophomore Alex O’Neil won easily, 6–2 and 6–3. In third singles, junior Sarah Moore decided the match, as hers was the held match. She played a very good second half of the third set, under a lot of pressure, and ended by winning 6–4 after losing her second set 6–0. However, the other two singles with Jorgensen and Tratnyek were the two losses of the day, despite highly competitive matches. First singles won the Trojans’ first point with a 6–2, 6–3 win, as they have been doing very well this year. Second doubles also won their third set solidly, setting up Moore for the win.
The Trojans advanced to the semifinals and lost 3–2 to the top-seeded Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School team at Assabet Valley Regional High School on Wednesday, June 7. See story in next week’s Press.
Bromfield versus Wachusett
Wednesday, May 24, at Harvard
1st singles: Lisa Jorgensen, Bromfield, def. Charlotte Mulane, Wachusett, 6–2, 6–3.
2nd singles: Grace Bennett, Wachusett, def. Leimalia Tratnyek, Bromfield, 6–0, 5–7, 10–5.
3rd singles: Dylan Moore, Wachusett, def. Sarah Moore, 6–4, 6–0.
1st doubles: Eleanor Lazar, Nora Hannigan, Wachusett, def. Ariel Jones-Mollod, Alex O’Neil, Bromfield, 6–1, 6–1.
2nd doubles: Camille Wheeler, Sophia Penning, Wachusett, def. Joanna Young, Olivia Noyes, Bromfield, 6–1, 7–6 (7–4).
Bromfield versus North Middlesex
Friday, May 26, at Harvard
1st singles: Leimalia Tratnyek, Bromfield, def. Carolyn Brady, North Middlesex, 8–1.
2nd singles: Sophie Darabaris, North Middlesex, def. Sarah Moore, Bromfield, 8–6.
3rd singles: Lexi Ferguson, North Middlesex, def. Abby Zajac, Bromfield, 9–8 (7–4).
1st doubles: Alex O’Neil, Olivia Noyes, Bromfield, def. Lizzie Urda, Amanda Rochette, North Middlesex, 8–1.
2nd doubles: Joanna Young, Lillian Shaw, Bromfield, def. Savannah Vasel, Delaney Stevens, North Middlesex, 8–1.
MIAA Central Division 3 Quarterfinal
Bromfield versus Grafton
Saturday, June 3, at Grafton
1st singles: Rae Deveney, Grafton, def. Lisa Jorgensen, Bromfield, 6–2, 0–6, 6–3.
2nd singles: Megan Nguyen, Grafton, def. Leimalia Tratnyek, Bromfield, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.
3rd singles: Sarah Moore, Bromfield, def. Caitlin Nguyen, Grafton, 7–6 (7–4), 0–6, 6–4.
1st doubles: Ariel Jones-Mollod, Alex O’Neil, Bromfield, def. Wafa Daher, Lisa Sulmasy, Grafton, 6–2, 6–3.
2nd doubles: Joanna Young, Olivia Noyes, Bromfield, def. Neha Perumal, Shreya Balaji, Grafton, 6–4, 5–7, 6–1.- League record: 7–0
Overall record: 15–3
Ivy Wang is a Bromfield junior.
