The St. Thomas Boys tennis team defeats Windham 5-4 in tightest match of the season.

STA (5-1) was able to pick up a huge upset victory over Windham (2-3) at Griffin Park on Wednesday afternoon.  The reason why it seemed like an upset was that the Saints would be without regular starters in the #2 and #6 spots.  That meant that the #7 and #8, who usually don't play for points, would be stepping into the starting lineup.  The boys had also seen that Windham had given Portsmouth, the top team in the division, their tightest match of the season a few days earlier.  All of these factors lead the Saints to think they were in for a tough afternoon of tennis.

Senior Captain Miguel Diaz provided the first glimmer of hope for STA.  Diaz picked up a huge 8-3 victory at #1 singles in what was probably the best match he played all season.  He was able to limit his unforced errors and hit a number of impressive shots while improving his individual record to 5-1 on the season.  Diaz' win at #1 set the tone for the rest of the squad.

The Saints depth is a huge strength this year and it was next man up mentality as both junior Baxter Kimball and senior Nate Poulin stepped into the starting lineup providing the team with two huge points.  Kimball's first varsity singles start was an impressive 8-4 victory at #5 singles.  Poulin was down 3-0 before coming back and winning 8-5 in the #6 spot.  Coach was very impressed with the composure of Kimball and Poulin considering they are regularly playing in exhibition matches.  Sophomore Jake McGuire gave the Saints their 4th singles victory of the evening with an 8-5 victory at the #3 spot.  McGuire is now 2-0 on the season when having to move up to #3.

The boys began getting excited as they knew they only needed one doubles match to secure the win,  After dropping #1 and #2 doubles it was up to McGuire and Kimball in the #3 spot.  The pair continued their dominating evening, each winning singles and doubles while combining for 3 of the 5 points for STA.  The 5-4 win over Windham was the Saints' best win of the season and Coach was very pleased with how all the boys played today.

STA was able to handle all the adversity thrown at them and extend their win streak to 4 matches.  They take a long break for spring vacation before returning to 3 straight matches beginning with Souhegan on the 2nd.

The STA boys tennis team after their 5-4 win over Windham.  The Saints improved to 5-1 on the season.