Valley Boys Tennis Finished The Season Strong

ESSEX, CHESTER, DEEP RIVER, CT — The Valley Regional High School boy's tennis team had a very successful season!

According to coach Callie Riggio, Captain Ben Gawlak, along with Hayden Lombardi, Kaid Matesky, Jack Whittaker and Nic Wyszkowski, enthusiastically accepted new team members Tucker Burr, Tomas Dahl, Peter Fitton, Willem Fitton, Aidan Garrity, Charlie Herman, Sawyer Joy, Henry McPherson and Charlie Whelan. The boys were fierce competitors and finished the regular season with 12 wins and 3 losses.

All of the top 9 Varsity players earned eligibility for the Shoreline Tennis Tournament, No. 1-2 singles (Wyszkowski and Dahl), the No. 3-4-5 Singles (Lombardi, Garrity and Whittaker) and the doubles 1-2 (Mastesky and Burr and Whelan and Joy).

Lombardi and Whittaker made it to the semifinals of the tournament in the 3/4 singles draw and were appointed to the Second Team All Shoreline. Nic Wyszkowski played exceptional tennis against the #1 tournament seed George Daines from Old Lyme. Unfortunately, Wyszkowski lost to Daines in the finals, however, he was selected for the First Team All Shoreline.

"The entire boy's team demonstrated heart and grit during the Shoreline Tennis Tournament," said Riggio.

Moving into the state tournaments, the team format changed from 5 singles and 2 doubles teams to 4 singles and 3 doubles teams.

"The boys took this change in stride and rose to the challenge. The boys made it to the semifinals of the state class S tournament. In an intense competition with Westbrook, the boys lost in a grueling nail-biting match-up 2-5. The entire team was supported by parents and student fans," said Riggio.

At the end of the year banquet, held at the Essex Park, it was announced that Wyszkowski and Lombardi will be co-captains for next year's season.

Awards were given to the following players:

Most Valuable Player- Nic Wyszkowski

Warrior Award- Tomas Dahl

Most Improved- Tucker Burr

Sportsmanship Award- Jack Whittaker

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