Coventry Tennis Fades in Late Afternoon Play at Narragansett

NARRAGANSETT – Thanks to a late afternoon win at No. 4 singles by sophomore Dan Stern-Lonczak, and strong performances from No. 3 singles and its doubles teams, the Narragansett High School boys’ tennis team ended a 17-game losing streak, beating Coventry Thursday afternoon at Sprague Park.

Narragansett coach Russell Wyatt had a single exclamation for the victory – “Yes!” he said, raising his arms in the air, laughing a bit, as he was asked for comment after the match.

Wyatt said his team didn’t give up and battled from behind for their first win in two years.

Narragansett (1-3, 1-3 Division III-South) doesn’t have enough players to field a No. 3 doubles team, and automatically conceded that point to Coventry. When Stern-Lonczak took the court, his team was down 3-0, thanks to wins by Coventry at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.

After a set, things did look bleak for the Mariners. Coventry junior Geoffrey Bean easily won the first set 6-0.

However, Wyatt said he knew Stern-Lonczak could play better, describing him as a gritty, competitive kid. After a quick chat to calm him down, the sophomore broke Bean in the second set, using a nice backhand slice to take the second 6-4.

Stern-Lonczak went up 3-0 in the third set, en route to a 6-1 victory that clinched the match for Narragansett.

Coventry coach Tiffany Risch said that despite the loss, Bean is playing well in his first year on the varsity.

“I thought he hung in there really well,” she said. “He’s still learning the game.”

The match win was possible thanks to a good overall performance by the Mariners. While none of their performances were dominant, Wyatt said all of his players battled to earn the four points for the win.

• At No. 3 singles, David Menzies defeated Matt Haley 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.
• At No. 1 doubles, Connor Sheridan and Jacob Desforges defeated Zach Williams and David Brodeur 6-3, 6-2.
• At No. 2 doubles, Brian Chausse and Stephen Fitzpatrick defeated Joe Sacchetti and Jennifer Green 7-5, 6-2.

Wyatt called Chausse’s work at No. 2 doubles “outstanding,” noting that the junior really had to put the team on his back, since the freshman Fitzpatrick is still learning the game.

“I told him [Fitzpatrick] to just go out there and play, because Brian is playing really well,” Wyatt said.

Coventry (0-2, 0-2 Division III-South) won its only two matches with convincing performances at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.

• At No. 1 singles, Scott Botelho defeated Michael Cournoyer 6-0, 6-0.
• At No. 2 singles, Richard Sharkey defeated Daniel LaBove 6-1, 6-4.

Risch said her team looks to Botelho and Sharkey for leadership, since the rest have limited experience playing tennis.

“In our last match against Mt. Hope, [Botelho] played real well,” she said, adding that Sharkey “held it together well” against LaBove in the second set.

Eight players on Coventry are new to varsity, including one freshman and two girls – Green and sophomore Karina Gustafson – who ran cross-country in the fall. Per RIIL regulations, girls are allowed to tryout and play boys’ tennis, as long as they didn’t play girls’ tennis in the fall.

Both teams traditionally struggle fielding a competitive tennis team because of a smaller school size, and competition for athletes with other sports.

Wyatt said he’s still looking for players – Right now, Narragansett automatically starts each match down 1-0 because they do not have a No. 3 doubles.

Thursday’s win snapped a long losing streak for the Mariners, according to records maintained at Rhode Island High School Sports.

Narragansett lost their first three matches this year, all 13 games in 2010, and lost in the semifinals of the Division III playoffs to Portsmouth in 2009. Their last win was in the Division III playoff quaterfinals against Pilgrim in 2009.

Coventry’s program has also struggled in the past, although the team did finish 10-3 in Division IV play last year. However, it was the only winning season of the 2000s for the Oakers. Coventry averaged a 2-12 finish during the nine seasons from 2000 to 2009.

Narragansett doesn’t have any matches during spring break, so Wyatt was looking forward to a week of uninterrupted practice.

In contrast, Coventry has a chance to bounce back quickly. They play Monday at West Warwick (1-0 Division III-South), and host Tiverton (0-2 Division III-South) on Tuesday.