Little Green’s season ends, two play on

MANCHESTER, NH – With a 5-4 home loss to Nashua North, the Manchester Central girls tennis team’s postseason came to an end the day after it began.

That, after thunderstorms postponed the second half of the Little Green’s preliminary-round match against the Titans Tuesday, forcing the teams to take the court again Wednesday at Manchester’s Livingston Park.

Senior captain Emily Leclerc led the way for the Little Green, winning her singles match against Mary Pappas, 8-0, and then teaming with fellow standout Emma Blaisdell for a shutout on the top doubles court. Blaisdell fell in her singles match, 8-1, to North’s Sanye Rane.

On the third singles court, Central’s Katie Mulcahy earned an 8-4 win over Clare Tran, while No. 4 Grace Manning emerged victorious in the most tightly-contested match, winning 9-7 to push the deciding matches into doubles action.

“I applaud Grace, because she also plays lacrosse and she has a lacrosse game today, so for her to come and win a match like that, without having played a ton of tennis (in her life), was huge,” said Central head coach Karen Leclerc. “That kept us in it. All we had to do was win one of the two doubles, so the odds are in your favor there, but they have good doubles teams, and they do to, but today, they were a little better.”

Central’s Catherine Tenn and Nevaeh Marineau fell to Brielle Baxter and Leena Srihivas, 8-1 and 8-4, on the fifth and sixth singles courts, respectively, and then fell, 8-1, in doubles play.

That left the deciding match on the third doubles court where Nancy Apollo and Mulch battled hard, but ultimately were bested, 8-4.

“It was (a tough loss), 5-4, so close,” said Leclerc. “It could have gone either way.”

“I wish it was like this all season, across the whole state, evenly matched,” said North head coach Bob Viens. “It was a really good match and it came right down to the end.

“(Central) is a strong team, good fundamentals, really fair, nice people to play against,” he said. “They beat us the first time around. Today, we got revenge.”

While the Titans advanced to the state quarterfinals, where they fell to top-ranked Derryfield Thursday, Central’s team season comes to an end.

“This team of mine, we’ve had so many injuries and sickness this year that sometimes I had to go to matches with only five girls,” said Leclerc, “so the fact that we were 8-6 and made the playoffs, that was was a victory all by itself, so today was kind of gravy.”

Now, Leclerc must bid farewell to five of her eight players, who all graduate this year.

“Three of them I’ve had for four years, most of them I’ve coached in middle school and some even in elementary school, so I’ve had them since I was little girls, and they’re just a great group of girls who do everything you ask, try hard, work hard and do their best every day, so really, it’s been a good year.”

It’s not quite over yet though as the younger Leclerc advances to the states singles tournament, as well as the double’s tournament (where she’ll team with Blaisdell) and face-off against  the top players from around the state June 1-6 at Derryfield School and Southern New Hampshire University.

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