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The Winchester High girls tennis team (15-0) shows no signs of slowing down, while it was wrapping up one month and beginning another.
The Red & Black closed out April with shutout wins over Belmont (April 27) and Wakefield (April 29). Once the calendar flipped to May, it was more of the same, starting with a pair of 4-1 victories over Lexington (May 1) and non-league Lincoln-Sudbury (May 4).
Coach Greg Lowder’s team then continued its domination last week against Middlesex League rivals Watertown (5-0, May 5) and Arlington (4-1, May 7), before shutting down host Burlington on Monday, May 11, 5-0.
All of this winning translates into being second only to top seed Newton South (12-1) in the latest Division 1 power rankings. Lexington (sixth, 12-2), Arlington (eighth, 11-4) and Belmont (ninth, 9-4) round out the Middlesex League teams in the Top 10.
Winchester singles players Daryana Skobeleva (6-0, 6-0, first singles), Andrea Bilic (6-4, 7-6, 8-6, second singles) and Ava Navarra (7-5, 6-3, third singles), and their doubles counterparts Esha Bhalla and Kaiyal Kumaran (6-1, 6-1, first doubles) and Mia Locke and Cate Sheehan (6-1, 6-0, second doubles) made up the starting lineup that beat the host Marauders.
It was more of the same against visiting Lexington with the exception of a competitive third singles match, where Olivia Thompson lost in three sets to Vera Belova, 6-1, 5-7, 0-6.
The Red & Black edged Lexington the first time around at its place back in mid-April, 3-2, and that was certainly not surprising for the Winchester coach, who pretty much predicted another showdown between these two titans.
“(Lexington) always brings out the best in us, and we were ready for them,” Lowder said after that April 14 match. “We will play them again (on May 1), and so hopefully we can be up for the challenge, (once again).”
Which they were, and it resulted in their 11th straight win at the time.
Lincoln-Sudbury followed Lexington to town, and like the Minutemen they managed to secure a point, while also being victim No. 12 on the Red & Black list of fallen opponents. It’s never an easy task to beat them in any individual matchup.
Bilic fought hard, before succumbing to Asha Nagar in second singles, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6. Thompson returned to the win column after beating Julia Wentworth in third singles, 6-3, 6-3, and continued winning against her Watertown opponent, Gigi Nitichke, 6-3, 6-1.
Navarra teamed up with Celine Pierce to beat Julie Pipitone and Calista Tansalank in first doubles, 6-0, 6-3. Talia Tashjian and Kaitlin Kim took down their second doubles opponents Addi Powazinik and Lily Griffin, 6-2, 6-2.
A trip to Arlington led to another triumph. All three singles players won their matches, including Lauren Li in third singles, 6-4, 6-2.
Sheehan and Lock, however, lost to Lucy Poage and Anaya Stratemyer in first doubles, 6-2, 6-4. But Laura Jiang and Tashjian won their second doubles match over Chiara Vivienzo and Sylvia Bagett, 6-2, 6-2.
On May 11, at Burlington, the Red & Black swept the Red Devils right off the court. Arielle Nghiem shutout Burlington’s Cecelia Fraczek in third singles, 6-0, 6-0. Audrey Arena and Kumaran topped Shreeya Patel and Emily Shaw in first doubles, 6-2, 6-1. Claire McArdle and Lock were victorious in second doubles against Samira Patel and Nishtha Prajapati, 6-2, 6-0.
The Winchester girls are scheduled to close out the week against the host Woburn Tanners (May 13, 4 p.m.) and Reading at the Packer Courts (May 15, 4:15 p.m.).
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
