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St. Thomas Aquinas High School

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St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Game Summary

5.0 years ago @ 2:40PM

Boys Varsity Tennis vs. Portsmouth HS School

Game Date
May 11, 2018
Score
SAINTS : 0
PORTSMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL: 9

Story by: Mike Zhe

NORTH HAMPTON — Ryan Porter estimates he’s had a tennis racket in his hand since the age of 5.

Hardly a surprise, given that his father, Tim, was a top player for Dover High School during a good era for that program in the 1980s.

So while a strong Portsmouth program has handed the pinnacle spot on its singles ladder this spring to a freshman, it’s not like Porter has been thrown into the deep end against his will. He’s been groomed for this.

“I started playing some USTA tournaments when I was 10 years old,” said the wiry left-handed player. “I play all four seasons. It’s been a really big part of my life as far back as I can remember.”

Porter took care of his business at No. 1 singles against St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday, winning 8-2. Jack Madden was even more efficient at No. 2, winning 8-1, and the Clippers upped their Division II record to 10-3 with a 9-0 win over the Saints at Dearborn Park.

With one match to go in the regular season — Wednesday against one-win Trinity — Portsmouth is in the No. 3-4-5 seed range for the upcoming tournament, but should be a tough out wherever it’s seeded, even with three freshmen among its top six players.

“I’m really happy about that,” said senior Tighe Clough, a varsity player since his freshman year, who won in singles and then teamed with Porter to win 8-0 at No. 2 doubles. “It means we’re going to have a good team here for a really long time.”

The best chance for St. Thomas to get a win came at No. 3 singles, where sophomore Owen Himmer had match points with opponent Eliot Danby serving.

But Danby fended those off, and then took control of the tiebreak, using some big serves and groundstrokes to win 9-8 (7-4), completing the singles sweep.

Still, first-year Saints coach Ross Suleski, his team headed to the eight-team tournament after last year’s two-win season, can see progress from the start of the year, one that began with an 8-1 loss to Portsmouth indoors.

“The score of the match might be the same, but we’re not coming in overwhelmed,” said Suleski. “A lot of my guys, (the first meeting) was the first week of the season and they hadn’t played any competitive tennis.

“Now, two months in, the growth from guys like (No. 1 Miguel) Diaz and (No. 5 Hayden) Blaisdell, guys who hadn’t played before ... I’m impressed.”

Himmer had lost 8-1 in singles against Portsmouth in the first meeting.

“He had a couple good chances to win the match,” said Suleski. “That’s what I told him: You don’t learn when you win, you learn when you lose. He’s going to take lessons from today’s match that are going to help him going forward.”

“Their coach has done a nice job this year,” said Portsmouth coach Anthony Sillitta. “He’s got them going in the right direction. They keep the ball in play; it’s a team where you’ve got to beat them, you’ve got to finish the point.”

The Clippers also got singles win from Nick Shultz (No. 4, 8-5), Clough (No. 5, 8-2) and Addison Bloom (No. 6, 8-1).

Madden and Shultz outlasted Diaz and Himmer 9-7 at No. 1 doubles, and Matt Leger and Calvin Kobylinski cruised at No. 3 (8-0) to complete a perfect evening against the backdrop of traffic noise from adjacent Interstate 95.

At No. 1 singles, Porter owns a 10-3 record, with his losses coming against strong competitors from Hanover, Hollis-Brookline and Souhegan.

“Ryan will be good once he gets a little bigger,” said Sillitta. “He’s good now. He’s got the consistency and a good mentality out there.”

“I’m trying to stay more offensive, end the point a little bit quicker, instead of just rallying back,” he said.

With Porter, Danby and Bloom, the Clippers have freshman building blocks in place for the future. But the present’s turning out pretty good, too.

“It’s been really amazing, really special being (No.) 1 as a freshman,” said Porter. “I think I’ve been pretty good; I’ve had three losses against really good opponents, but I’m happy with how I’m playing right now.”

So are the Clippers.


https://aquinasathletics.org