Whaler Sports Roundup May 19, 2023

In this Whaler Sports Roundup made up of games on May 19, the boys tennis team took a big step towards maintaining their top five positioning in the state tournament bracket with the performance they put on Friday afternoon against Sturgis East/West, the girls tennis team has now won three matches in a row and has their sights set on the state tournament, and the softball team will hope to end their season on a high note with three games remaining after a disappointing result on Friday.

Boys Tennis Improves To 8-5 Following Home Win Over Sturgis

The Whaler tennis team has had a promising season and with the goal of maintaining their spot in the top eight of the Div. 4 state tournament bracket, they hoped to take care of business against Sturgis East/West at home with a tough matchup against Martha’s Vineyard looming as the regular season finale on May 25.

Nantucket beat Sturgis, who is ranked #8 in Div. 3, by a score of 3-2 behind another solid performance from freshman Nik Krastev and a pair of doubles wins.

Krastev was the Whalers third single and narrowly won his first set 7-5. In set two he had a much easier time, winning 6-2.

With top single Quinn Keating and second single Boyan Kalpazanov both losing their matches, it came down to Nantucket’s doubles pairings to secure the win and per usual, they came through.

Henry Kathawala teamed up with senior Hunter Gross, and the duo bounced back from a 6-7 defeat in set one to win back-to-back sets 6-0, 6-3 to secure their win.

The second doubles pairing of Aidan Sullivan and Hawkin Edwardes won their matchup in easy fashion, beating their opponents in straight sets 6-0, 6-0.

The Whalers are currently ranked #5 in Div. 4 and will likely remain within the top six or seven regardless of the outcome against Martha’s Vineyard, Div. 3’s top team on Thursday, May 25.

Below are some photos taken by Current Photographer Chris Tran.

Girls Tennis Wins Third Straight, Beats Sturgis East 4-1

The Whaler girls tennis team knew this season would be a developmental year with the large number of seniors who graduated from last year’s squad. They have been on the bubble of postseason contention all year and got some good news on Friday that they had moved up from #30 to #26 in the latest Div. 4 rankings.

But Nantucket had an even greater opportunity on the road that same day as they took on Sturgis East, who is currently three spots ahead of them at #23. The Whalers won the match 4-1 behind another strong showing from top singles player Joan Harris to improve their win streak to three games.

Harris won her match in straight sets 6-1, 6-1, third singles player Hannah Gerardi won her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, first doubles pairing Chloe Marrero and Fiona Keltz won their match in three sets. After winning set one 6-1 they lost set two 1-6. In set three, Marrero and Keltz pulled away and won 6-3 to take their match and give the Whalers a decisive third win.

Nantucket’s second doubles pairing of Julia Swietlik and Andrea Bunlerssak won their match by default to clinch the 4-1 win.

The Whalers are now 6-9 this season and their next match is Monday, May 22 at 4 p.m. at home against Sturgis West.

Softball Drops To 3-13 Following Loss To Sturgis East

The Whaler softball team lost to the Sturgis East Storm 19-0 on Friday. Their record is now 3-13 and have three games left to play this season. They will travel to Mashpee for a 3:45 game against the Falcons on Tuesday, May 23.

For their final two games, the Whalers will be at home. They will host the Nauset Warriors at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 and then close out the season with a home game against Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, May 27 at 11:30 a.m.

Looking ahead, here are the scheduled games between now and Wednesday's Whaler Sports Roundup.

Monday, May 22 Schedule:

Girls Lacrosse hosts the St. John Paul II Lions at 4 p.m.

Girls Tennis hosts the Sturgis West Navigators at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, May 23 Schedule:

Girls Lacrosse will be right back in action hosting the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins at 4 p.m.

Softball will be on the road to play Mashpee.

Sailing will be on the road competing against Barnstable.

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