OLD LYME — The Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Girls’ Tennis team has been having an extraordinary season but let’s not forget the boys, who, thanks to Friday’s 6-1 win over Old Saybrook and Thursday’s 7-0 victory over Portland, are now on a six-game winning streak.
In rookie coach Andrew Tyrol’s enthusiastic words, “We’re making a run toward the state tournament!”
Tyrol, who is a 2013 graduate of LOLHS and now has returned to is high school as a Special Education teacher, comments, “We have a match Friday against Old Saybrook, then our Senior Night against Waterford on Saturday, followed by HK [Haddam-Killingworth], Morgan, and Stonington to round out our regular season prior to the individual and state tournaments.”
Asked how he felt about his team’s improving form, Tyrol responded by email, saying, “The boys have found their stride in the back half of the season and it really came after a couple of tough losses to HK and Valley. After the HK loss, I saw the Old Lyme boys rally together and start to gain traction with a new competitive and positive team culture.”
He noted, “Practices raised their intensity and I saw a desire and motivation to get better every day. We’ve been talking all season about growth-mindset and I’m so proud of them all for understanding the true meaning of failure–as an opportunity to get better.”
Tyrol stressed that he wished to acknowledge the leadership of senior captains Mike Klier and Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum, and sophomore captain, Griffin McGlinchey on, “… pushing everyone on this team to continue to improve, especially after losses.”
After losing to Valley (who are undefeated and the #1 team in the state) in a tough third set with a score of 3-4, Tyrol said, “We saw the potential that this team has. Every member of our team, has been playing an integral role from practice to game days.”
He concluded, “We are excited to close out the regular season and improve our chances on making a run in the state tournament.”
The boys’ four previous wins to Thursday’s over Portland were Cromwell (7-0), Westbrook (4-3), Coginchaug (7-0), and Waterford (6-1).
Old Lyme would actually be on an eight-game streak if they had defeated Valley on April 29, but they came home with a 3-4 loss instead. In Tyrol’s words, “It was an absolutely incredible match from Griffin McGlinchey [of Old Lyme] and Tomas Dahl,” which went to a nail-biting three sets, but which Dahl ultimately won.
Here are the full results from April 18 to date:
May 13
Old Lyme (H) Defeats Old Saybrook 6-1
Singles:
1. Charles Hinckley vs. Logan Medbury: 6-0, 6-0
2. Griffin McGlinchey vs. Victor Fuda: 6-0, 6-3
3. Will Danes vs. Daniel Steindl: Forfeit Loss (Illness)
4. Aidan Kerrigan vs. Brent Ling: 6-0, 6-3
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Forfeit Win
Singles:
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Forfeit Win
Old Lyme (H) Defeats Cromwell 7-0
Singles:
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Forfeit Win
May 10
Old Lyme (A) Defeats Westbrook 4-3
Singles:
1. Charles Hinckley vs. Joey Caslin: Win–Scratch
2. Griffin McGlinchey vs. Elliot Koplas: 0-6, 1-6
3. Will Danes vs. Jonah Freund: 7-5, 5-7, 7-2 (3rd set tiebreak)
4. Aidan Kerrigan vs. Josh Davey: 6-2, 6-3
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Dev Patel & Justin Tapia: 6-0, 6-2
May 3
Old Lyme (A) Defeats Coginchaug 7-0
Singles:
1. Charles Hinckley vs. Zack Ryer: 6-1, 6-1
2. Griffin McGlinchey vs. Luke Charest: 6-0, 6-0
3. Will Danes vs. Will Fournier: 6-0, 6-0
4. Aidan Kerrigan vs. Forfeit Win
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Forfeit Win
Old Lyme (A) defeats Waterford 6-1
Singles:
3. Alis Bicic & Leland Hine vs. Alistair Wayland & Andrew Bertrond: 6-0, 6-1
Valley Defeats Old Lyme 4-3
Singles:
3. Alis Bicic & Nevin Joshy vs. Charlie Whelan & Shep Whitney: 6-1, 4-6, 4-6
Singles:
3. Alis Bicic and Leland Hine vs. Page Cuptill and Ryan Mansfield: 6-1, 7-5
Singles:
1. Charles Hinckley vs. Ryan Kerr: 6-1, 6-2
2. Andy Sicuranza vs. Ben McGrew: 6-4, 6-1
3. Ryan Clark vs. 6-2, 1-6, 4-6
4. N/A
Singles: