T-Birds’ Boys’ Tennis Stands at 2-8

The going hasn’t been easy for the boys’ tennis team as it recently faced some of the Shoreline Conference’s top teams in Westbrook, Morgan and Valley, taking three losses to stand at 2-8 so far in 2012.

Despite their record, the T-Birds are seeing some fine performances and some new faces in the varsity lineup.

North Branford had just one contest over April vacation–a 6-1 loss to Westbrook (4-3) on April 20. Sophomore Andrew Westwood took the T-Birds’ lone win in the match with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jordan Bernard. This marked Westwood’s third win of the season.

Westbrook won the remainder of the matches. In singles action, Mike Hathaway beat Scott Jackson 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1; Michael Schneider topped Jake Caplan 6-3, 3-3 at No. 3 in a match the was stopped due to an injury; at No. 4, Harris Fruederthal took a 6-1, 6-2 win over Dan Constantinedi; and at No. 5, Spencer Faucher topped Manny Silva 6-0, 6-2.

“Manny played well in his first varsity singles match,” said Coach Rick Geremia.

In doubles, Brandon Raunskar and Alex Trasaldes topped Ryan Dombrowski and Joe Parisi 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 and Matt Schenld and Spencer Hagen won 6-4, 6-0 over Randy Willis and John Opie at No. 2.

On April 26, North Branford dropped a 4-0 decision to Morgan in a match that was shortened due to rain.

The T-Birds then faced a strong Valley team, which improved to 8-2 with its 7-0 win over North Branford.

The No. 1 doubles team of Dombrowski and Parisi put up a fight against Nolte VanBenschoter and Mike McKay as they pushed their game to three sets, ultimately falling 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, Peter Dixon and Steve Sopenski topped Silva and Opie 6-2, 6-4.

Valley dominated singles play as Kyle Peterson topped Jackson 6-0, 6-0; Clay Arnold beat Westwood 6-2, 6-2; Brooks Rozelle took a 7-5, 6-1 win over Caplan; Tavo Dam earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Constantinedi; and Elias Mueller shut out Connor Sullivan 6-0, 6-0.