SPORTS

Tennis teams look to make final push

Posted 6/2/21

By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston West and East boys tennis teams were in action last week as the Falcons took on undefeated Mount St. Charles while the Bolts hosted North Smithfield. The Mounties left West with a 6-1 victory while the Northmen picked up a

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SPORTS

Tennis teams look to make final push

FINISHING STRONG: Cranston West’s Zack Moone takes a shot last week.

(Photos by Alex Sponsell)

FINAL PUSH: Cranston East’s Christopher Lam looks to make a play last week.

Jose Mayen returns a Northmen shot.

ON THE COURT: Cranston East’s Ivan Abreu Paniagua gets set to serve against North Smithfield last week.

THE HOME STRETCH: Cranston West’s Jack Zukowski eyes the ball against Mount St. Charles last week.

West’s Connor Xiang gets ready to return a shot against the Mounties.

Posted Wednesday, June 2, 2021 1:00 am

By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston West and East boys tennis teams were in action last week as the Falcons took on undefeated Mount St. Charles while the Bolts hosted North Smithfield.

The Mounties left West with a 6-1 victory while the Northmen picked up a 4-3 decision.

The Bolts dropped to 2-2 on the season and faced North Smithfield again on Tuesday, but the results were not available at press time. East finishes the season taking on Exeter West Greenwich, North Providence and Woonsocket.

The Falcons fell to 1-5 with the loss. Despite a rocky 2021 spring, West coach Jim Lucas has been happy to see his team have a chance to compete after missing all of 2020 due to the pandemic.

“We were fortunate to get so many kids out for the team this year, and our principal Tom Barbieri was very helpful with that. I was also very thankful for our captain Dan Meyerson for getting the word out in the school. That was awesome. He’s a great player that has worked very hard and is a great kid,” said Lucas, who credited all of his leaders for keeping the season alive despite some early doubts. “Our captains Dan, Jared Ainley, and Isaiah Fernandez are fantastic kids that are here all the time working hard. The team has great spirit despite it being a losing year.”

Lucas has also been encouraged by the younger players that have come out for the team and hopes this experience will pay dividends next spring.

“We weren’t necessarily expecting a winning season this year considering everything that has happened, but the kids competed very well this year. Win our lose, no one is getting down and our practices have been well attended. It’s been a good season, a lot of fun to watch, and it’s good to be getting back to doing things after everything that has happened. I’m very pleased,” said Lucas. “Getting this season in is great for the younger kids and showing them what they need to do. It encourages them to take tennis lessons and just to keep playing tennis.”

West faced Narragansett on Wednesday but the results were not available at press time. The Falcons will wrap up their season next week when they travel to Tiverton.