HANOVER — The Hanover High girls tennis team picked up its second straight win, defeating Dover High 6-3 after sweeping the doubles matches at Storrs Pond Recreation Area on Friday afternoon.
The two squads battled to a 3-3 stalemate after singles play, but the Bears’ doubles pairs of freshman Sarah Maestripieri and senior Maggie Feng and sophomores Paz Babineau and Nour Tannous buckled down, picking up 8-2 and 8-6 wins, respectively, to clinch the victory.
“I think they were both really locked in, in trying to make sure they secured wins,” Hanover Head Coach Liz Murray said of her No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams. “I think they would have been like that regardless if we went in 3-3, but I’m glad that’s the way it ended up going; they often say you win it in doubles.”
In addition to the doubles wins, the Bears picked up wins in singles from Maestripieri (8-5), Babineau (8-2), and Tannous (8-2). Hanover’s No. 3 doubles squad of senior Mia Bornstein and sophomore Isabella Orsino also picked up a win, 8-3, after the team win had been clinched.
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Murray noted it was just the team’s second match and only the fifth time they have played outdoors this spring.
“I’m really excited about how they played and how they came out for this,” she said.
The matchup of the day, as evidenced by the line of Dover players watching at the court’s fence and the spectators hooting and hollering after every point, was the No. 1 singles contest between Maestripieri and Dover’s Paige Wilson.
The back-and-forth affair featured long rallies that thrilled spectators and left both coaches in agreement that it had been an entertaining match.
Maestripieri is a key contributor for a Bears program that is retooling. Last season, the team finished 12-4 and fell to Bedford in the NHIAA Division I semifinals. But Hanover lost seven seniors to graduation.
Murray described this iteration of her squad as essentially a new team; only one player from last season’s semifinal run remains in the top six.
Hanover is taking those changes in stride, though. Friday’s win was preceded by a season-opening 9-0 win on the road against Manchester Memorial on Wednesday.
“I’m really happy with how each individual player has grown — even those who are not in the top six right now,” Murray said. “Everyone is growing in terms of their skills, in terms of their playing — either individually or in doubles, so I see continued growth and depth in the team, which I think is going to be great as we go through the rest of the season.”
Hanover (2-0) will aim to keep its momentum going on Monday at 4 p.m. when it visits Pinkerton (1-0), a squad that also advanced to the semifinals last season. The Bears return to Storrs on Wednesday to host Keene (0-1) at 4 p.m.
