Narragansett Tennis Struggles Against Rebels

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The South Kingstown High School girls’ tennis team flashed refined tennis skills on Tuesday afternoon, easily taking five of seven matches from the Narragansett Mariners.

The Rebels (3-0, 3-0 Division II-South) were led by the strong play of their top two singles players, and their No. 1 doubles pairing. In contrast, Narragansett (1-2, 0-2 Division II-South) picked up its sole points with a tough struggle at No. 3 singles and a victory at No. 3 doubles.

At No. 1 singles, South Kingstown sophomore Alexa Pagliaro took care of Narragansett senior and captain Mary Kate Sullivan, 6-1, 6-1. South Kingstown senior Cassie Collinson also took her match easily, 6-2, 6-2, against Narragansett senior Anne Hall.

Collinson said she was happy with her early season performance, but still saw room for improvement in her game.

“I am good with being consistent and getting shots in, but I need to work on my serves,” she said, adding that she wanted to add power.

She and South Kingstown head coach Mary Lou Morissette were bullish on their team’s chances this year though.

“I think we’re going to do well,” Collinson said. “We have a good group of girls this year. Hopefully we’ll make it to states.”

Morissette said that Pagliaro had impressed her so far with her play, adding that she also saw her finish second place in an individual tournament.

“Alexa is doing very well,” she said. “She’s got a good shot at making All-State.”

Although the Mariners lost, they did win the most competitive match of the day at No. 3 singles. With the sun setting and all other matches concluded, Narragansett junior Heather Dorich gutted out a victory against Gillan Madden.

The two traded sets, and agreed to finish their match with a super tiebreaker, as opposed to a third set. With both players fighting through fatigue, Dorich was just a bit more composed, as she won on three errors by Madden.

Dorich said she regained her composure after a tough first set, which she dropped 7-6 to Madden.

“[I was] playing my game more, focusing on my skills,” she said of the adjustments she made. Dorich added that she would like to work on her game near the net and her return shots for the Mariners’ next match.

Narragansett head coach Russ Wyatt said he’d like more of his team to show the sort of mental toughness Dorich had, adding that it’s a work in process for them.

“Some of my girls play, not to win, but not to lose,” he said. “I see a lot of improvement, and I see some things we can work on.”

With the victory, South Kingstown remains undefeated in league play. Morissette said she was looking forward to facing the Mariners, as a test of her team’s depth.

“Narragansett always puts together tough doubles teams,” she said. “This is what we needed.”

Morissette added that she just loved the overall character of her team, citing the diverse backgrounds they had in other school activities.

“These are special kids, they really are,” she said. “We [coaches] like being with them.”

South Kingstown next plays at Middletown (2-0, 2-0 Division II-South), in a good early season test for the Islanders. Middletown has already equaled its win total from last season, when it finished 2-12 in league play. The match starts at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Gaudet Middle School in Middletown.

For Narragansett, Wyatt said the goal this year is to sustain success – to make the playoffs for a second straight year.

The Mariners finished 8-6 last year in league play, their first winning season since 2005. Wyatt said they return six players from that squad, with the remaining six either coming up from junior varsity or playing for the first time.

Narragansett has a good chance at picking up its first league victory today, as they host the Coventry Oakers (0-2, 0-2 Division II-South). Coventry was the runner-up in Division IV in 2009, but finished 0-14 in Division II last year, and are struggling again this year.  

The match starts at 3:45 p.m. at Sprague Park. The Mariners also host Westerly (0-2, 0-2 Division II-South) at 3:45 p.m. Thursday.

Check back at 10:30 a.m. for our sports roundup, which will include girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ cross country, and middle school sports results.