Naugy boys ready to take on NVL

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck boys tennis team has won three of its last five matches as the Greyhounds set their sights on the Naugatuck Valley League tournament.

“I’m pleased at the way we have been playing,” Naugatuck head coach Anthony Mariano said. “We have been competitive in all our matches.”

It began last Wednesday with a convincing 8-1 win over Kennedy. Chris Cook won the No. 1 singles match, 8-0, to get things started. Jared Montini (8-0), Jay Mezzo (8-3), Brandon Sampaio (8-1), Alec Durante (8-1) and Andres Maldonado (8-1) followed with victories in singles.

In doubles, the duo of Maldonado and Fernando Moreno took a 6-1 decision and the team of Dylan Triscritti and Zak Robushi won, 6-3. The team of Sergio Rodriguez and Rithvik Rajkumar fell short, 6-4.

On Monday, the ‘Hounds dropped a tough match to defending NVL champion Wolcott, which has lost just once this season, by a 7-2 margin.

Naugy bounced back on Tuesday by knocking off Wilby twice, winning the first match 5-1 playing without doubles and then taking the second match 7-2.

On Wednesday, the Greyhounds hung with Torrington — the only team to beat Wolcott this season — before falling, 6-3.  Mezzo and tommy Martisn won singles matches 9-7 and 8-2 respectively. The duo of Montini and Martins picked up an 8-6 win in doubles play.

The Greyhounds (8-6) finish out the regular season against Sacred Heart on Thursday, their final tune-up for the NVL tournament that starts Monday.

The stretch of playing four straight days will have the Greyhounds ready to take on the NVL.

The quarterfinals of the tournament are Monday with higher seeds hosting matches. The semifinals are next Wednesday with the final set for next Friday at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. Final pairings will be announced this week.

“We are going to go out there and give it our all and live with the results,” Mariano said. “Playing four matches in four days certainly will give us a gauge as to where we are and have us ready for the tournament.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the article that appears in the May 11 print edition of the Citizen’s News to include information on matches played after press time through May 9.