BOYS TENNIS
Another day, another impressive victory for head coach Robbie Bilsbury and his Manchester Essex squad.
Hosting No. 16 Bromfield in a Division 4 Round of 16 tilt on Tuesday, the Hornets cruised to their second straight 5-0 sweep to open tournament play. Now, it’s on to face familiar foe Hamilton-Wenham (No. 9 seed) in the Elite Eight round on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. back at the Gloucester High School courts.
Winning their matches for Manchester on Tuesday was Jack Cummins at first singles, Alex Montaresi at second singles and Charlie Langendorf at third singles. Both doubles teams (Jack Lawler/Finn Birkeland and Shay Englehardt/Charlie Rubens) also came out on top.
The Hornets topped Hamilton-Wenham twice during the regular season by identical 4-1 scores, although both matches were competitive.
GIRLS TENNIS
The Manchester Essex girls tennis team’s incredible run rolls on.
Hosting No. 22 seed Amesbury in an all-Cape Ann League Division 4 second round clash on Monday afternoon, the sixth seeded Hornets cruised to a 5-0 victory to advance to their fourth consecutive Elite Eight.
Aurora Lenehan (6-4, 6-0), Sarah Cort (6-0, 6-0) and Grace Scarbrough (6-3, 6-1) swept singles play, while the doubles tandems of Nina Zalosh/Libby Lawler (6-0, 6-2) and Ella Arntsen/Maeve McCardle also cruised.
Now sitting at 13-8 overall for the season, the Hornets will face the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between No. 3 Monomoy and No. 19 Palmer for a crack at the Final Four. A date, time and location for that match has yet to be determined.
In what’s been an exceptional run for the program, Manchester made it to the Division 4 state semifinals last spring before falling to rival Lynnfield in a tight 3-2 match. In 2023, the Hornets fell to Hamilton-Wenham in the state championship, and a year before that they played in the state Final Four before falling to Wareham.
SOFTBALL
The Manchester Essex softball team’s season has come to a close.
Seeded No. 26 in the Division 4 bracket, the Hornets had advanced to the Round of 32 via forfeit. But they ran into a buzz saw that was No. 7 Abington next, suffering a 9-0 defeat on Monday afternoon to effectively conclude their season at 12-10.
While the loss certainly stings now, the future remains incredibly bright for head coach Frank Sarro’s group. Manchester currently has zero seniors on its roster and will return their entire core next spring, including talented junior pitcher/shortstop Anna Gardner as well as fellow juniors Penelope Riggs and Abby Aiello, and freshman Cordelia Riggs.