Oyster River, Portsmouth boys post wins in Division II tennis quarters

DURHAM – The Oyster River High School boys tennis team took the first step of reaching its second consecutive Division II championship match on Thursday afternoon.

The third-seeded Bobcats, who won their first state championship in program last season, won five singles matches, and two in doubles, beating sixth-seeded Winnacunnet, 7-2 at Oyster River High School.

“The team looked solid today and really worked their patterns,” Oyster River head coach Michael Pare said. “They have all continued to get better match by match.”

Oyster River's James Li delivers a serve at No. 4 singles in Thursday's Division II boys tennis quarterfinal against Winnacunnet.

Oyster River will face No. 2 Bow on Monday. Bow advanced with a 9-0 win over No. 7 Souhegan. Bow beat Oyster River, 6-3 in the regular-season finale for both schools.

“We’re looking forward to a rematch with them,” Pare said. “The kids are excited, and we’re looking forward to another fun high school tennis match.”

Oyster River's Simon Bliss returns a shot at No. 3 singles in Thursday's Division II boys tennis quarterfinal against Winnacunnet.

John Henry, at No. 1 singles, lost to Winnacunnet’s Jackson Willis in the regular season, but bounced back with an 8-6 win on Thursday.

“(Henry) really put together a nice all-court match by maintaining a high level of focus and consistency against one of the better players in Division II,” Pare said. “The match was filled with high-level tennis, good tempo points, and both players pushing their strategies. (Henry) was able to get ahead at the right time and win the big points.”

Oyster River's Shashu Srivatsan returns a shot at No. 2 singles in Thursday's Division II boys tennis quarterfinal against Winnacunnet.

Oyster River’s Shashu Srivatsan won 8-1 at No. 2 singles, while teammates Simon Bliss (No. 3, 8-2), James Li (No. 4, 8-2) and Alex Scarlat (No. 6, 9-7) all won their respective singles matches.

In doubles, Henry and Li won 8-3 at No. 2, and Kaden Pare and Scarlat won 8-0 at No. 3.

For Winnacunnet, Fekadu O’Connor won at No. 5 singles, 8-4; and Willis and Chris Berry won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.

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DIVISION II

No. 4 Portsmouth 6

No. 5 Goffstown 3

PORTSMOUTH – The Clippers were missing Aidan Shilman, their No. 1 singles player, but did enough to advance with this Division II quarterfinal win.

“Everyone had to move up one spot, and the team did a really nice job rallying around that and getting the win,” Portsmouth head coach Anthony Sillitta said. “I thought it was a good win, a real team effort.”

Portsmouth will face top-seeded Lebanon on Monday in a semifinal. Lebanon advanced with a 9-0 win over No. 8 Hollis-Brookline.

Ben Welsh (No. 3, 8-6), Jiles Tracz (No. 4, 8-2), Josh White (No. 5, 8-3) and Aidan Holt (No. 6, 8-5) all win in singles for Portsmouth. In doubles, Raphael Hey Tenne and Welsh won 8-1 at No. 2, and White and Holt won 8-5 at No. 3.

DIVISION I

No. 5 Bishop Guertin 7

No. 4 Dover 2

DOVER – The Green Wave saw their season come to an end in this Division I quarterfinal.

Dover’s Colby Bigelow won 8-4 at No. 6 singles, while the No. 3 doubles team of Logan Spagna and Gavin Chu won 8-2. Dover finished with a record of 12-3.

“I knew going in BG was a strong team,” Dover head coach Brian Beck said. “I thought everybody played great today. I knew BG was a very solid team, and knew we had to win at the low end, 3 through 6. Everyone had a close match, we just couldn’t close it out.”

Dover freshman Diego Lopez lost 8-3 at No. 1 singles.

“(Lopez) really stepped up,” Beck said. “It was the best match I think he’s played all year.”

No. 3 Derryfield 6

No. 6 Exeter 3

DERRYFIELD – The Blue Hawks, who beat Nashua North in a first-round match, end their season with a record of 11-5.

Exeter’s Lance Makabali won 8-6 at No. 5 singles and Owen Simon won 8-2 at No. 6. In doubles, Exeter’s Ryan Byrnes and Nick Myers won 9-7 at No. 3.

“Happy with our improvement, last time we faced them we did not even get into doubles,” Exeter head coach Justin Tardif said. “All six of our singles are seniors for us. They meant a lot of our program these last few years and will be greatly missed.”