Tennis tournaments continue

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The Naugatuck boys and girls tennis teams reached the semifinals of the NVL tennis team tournaments last week where they both fell short of reaching the finals.

The boys, the No. 3 seed, ran into a tough Torrington team, the No. 2 seed, and fell, 8-1. P.J. Morrissey earned the only win for Naugatuck with an 8-3 victory.

The Greyhounds earned their trip to the semifinals with a 7-2 win over No. 6 Woodland in the quarterfinals.

Michael Rivera defeated Nick Hudson, 8-1. Morrissey got by Richie Weishner, 8-0. Alec Durante bested Dante Polletta, 8-4. Matt Triscritti got past Jeff Varesio, 8-6, and Jay Mezzo defeated Gabe Sousa, 8-2. The doubles team of Morrissey and Triscritti won over Weishner-Polletta, 8-4, and Mezzo and Brandon Sampaio won 8-2 over Varesio and Sousa.

Woodland’s Josh Powanda earned an 8-2 win over the Greyhounds’ Marco Rebelo, and the doubles team of Powanda and Hudson defeated the Naugatuck tandem of Rivera and Durante, 8-6, for the only two Woodland victories in the match.

The No. 2-seeded Naugatuck girls beat No. 7 Wolcott, 5-2, in the quarterfinals to advance and face a very talented St. Paul team, the No. 3 seed, in the semifinals. The Greyhounds, who were looking to defend their title, fell to St. Paul, 5-2, in the semifinals.

The doubles teams of Sabrah Cegielski and Kelly Redmond won, 8-5, and Gina Greco and Brielle Behuniak won, 8-1, for the Greyhounds’ two victories against St. Paul.

In the quarterfinals versus Wolcott, Floraine Evardo and Kelly Murphy earned shutout wins in singles play. The Greyhounds put the match away with Lori Dietz and Patricia Escaleira, Cegielski and Redmond, and Greco and Behuniak sweeping in doubles.

The No. 4 Woodland girls had experience and talent, but the team wasn’t at 100 percent as the Hawks lost their No. 2 singles player days before the tourney began. The Hawks fell to No. 5 Sacred Heart, 4-3, in the quarterfinals.

Woodland secured wins from Ally Mayne and the doubles teams of Carly Erickson and Kaitlyn Crosby and Alana Carasone and Mia Piccolo.

The individual boys and girls tennis tournaments started on Tuesday, and the Hawks are well represented in the semifinals. The semifinals and finals are Wednesday at Woodland.

Powanda will face Wolcott’s Matt Spina in the semifinal of the boys tournament. Powanda defeated Crosby’s Dylan Kinsell, 8-0, in the first round and Torrington’s Scott Dixon, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.

Mayne will play Wolcott’s Edona Bytyqi in the semifinals of the girls tournament. Mayne beat Torrington’s Shea Eucalitto in the first round and Rachel Martineau of Watertown, 8-2, in the quarterfinals.

The Woodland tandem of Alyssa Varesio and Angelina Padilla will face Sacred Heart’s Ava Longo and Nhi Nguyen in the semifinals of the girls doubles tournament. Varesio and Padilla beat St. Paul’s Elizabeth Etter and Ximena Varela-Marin, 8-5, in the first round and Wolcott’s Kerri Rodrigues and Katherine Rodrigues, 8-2, in the quarterfinals.

Full results are available here.