While the Wilton High boys tennis team came up painfully short in a pair of 4-3 losses this week to Darien and Greenwich, the Warriors’ two doubles team managed to remain undefeated on the season.
In Tuesday’s match at Greenwich, the first doubles team of Jordan Lord and Ryan Black lost the first set to Greewnich’s Max Minichetti and Tyler Dagnino, 6-2, but rallied to take the second set 6-1. The third set went to a tiebreaker, where the Wilton tandem fell behind 4-0. But Lord and Black rallied to pull even at 5-5, and then won the tiebreaker 7-5, and the third set, 7-6.
“FCIAC tennis at its best,” said WHS Coach Chris Damone. “Lord and Black took control of the net.”
In the second doubles match, Wilton’s Nick Fiol and Ryan Walsh also rallied from a set down to beat Patricio Houson and Carlos Noriega, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, “in an intense back-and-forth battle at the net,” said Damone.
“The two doubles matches were high level,” he said. “It was a great team effort. We haven’t beaten Greenwich in doubles, for a long time. We are becoming match tough with every match and I am very pleased with their ability to stay in the present.”
In Monday’s loss to Darien at home, Lord and Black won their match in straight sets, while Fiol and Walsh again rallied for a three-set win, this time by the score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Wilton also got a win at fourth singles from Timmy Sullivan, who beat Darien’s Russel Mahaney in three sets, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4.
At fifth singles, Alex Hattenbach lost a very tough three-set decision to Darien’s Luke Uhlman, falling in a third-set tiebreaker, 7-3.
Match results were:
Darien 4, Wilton 3
Singles: Bobby Nuener (D) def. Gerrit Gaillard, 6-0, 6-2; Tim Derby (D) def. Ian Erickson, 6-2, 6-1; Sammy Alptekin (D) def. Quentin Thouvenout, 6-4, 7-6 (3); Timmy Sullivan (W) def. Russel Mahaney, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4; Luke Uhlman (D) def. Alex Hattenbach, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3); Doubles: Jordan Lord-Ryan Black (W) def. Harrison Walter-Cooper Murray, 6-0, 6-4; Nicolas Fiol-Ryan Walsh (W) def. Ben Brown-Charlie Brooks, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Greenwich 4, Wilton 3
Singles: Gerrit Gaillard (W) def. Dickon Hollister: 2-1 (retired); Marcos Eslava (G) def. Ian Erickson, 6-2, 6-4; Henry DeCoster (G) def. Quentin Thouvenot, 6-1, 6-3; Jacob Cohen (G) def. Rod-Djaly Thoby, 6-1, 6-1; Henry Lewis (G) def. Max Najarian, 6-0, 6-1; Doubles: Jordan Lord-Ryan Black (W) def. Max Minichetti-Tyler Dagnino, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5); Nick Fiol-Ryan Walsh (W) def. Patricio Houson-Carlos Noriega, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.