Foxborough High Girls Tennis Return to South Finals after Scituate Win

It might of taken a come back from third singles player Hallie Young, but for the second year in a row, the No. 1 Foxborough Warriors (21-0) are heading to the MIAA Division 2-South tennis championship on Saturday at Medway High School.

After rain forced the Warriors to move their semifinal match against the No. 4 Scituate Sailors (18-2) from Foxborough High School to the indoor courts of the Brown Billone Club in Easton, the Warriors earned a 3-2 win after sweeping all three singles matches Thursday.

The Warriors’ opponent in the next round will be the No. 3 Hopkinton Hillers (21-1) who beat Foxborough last year, 3-2, for the South Sectional championship. The Hillers got to the finals with a 3-2 win over No. 2 Hingham.

After struggling early on, Hallie Young rallied back from a set point deficit in the first match to beat Tess Malerbi 7-5, 6-2 to get the third and clinching victory for Foxborough.

“She gritted it out. She wasn’t playing her best tennis in the first set. She was very nervous which was understandable because the girl (Malerbi) hit the ball hard. She (Malerbi) has a big forehand and she (Young) was feeling the moment,” Foxborough head coach Peter Prinos said.

Down 0-2 in the first set, Young railed back to get to within one at 2-3 but found herself a game away from being down a set at 3-5. Fighting back and being more aggressive, Young took four games in a row to get out of the set with a win.

“Once she got relaxed she definitely was able to start playing better and more like herself,” Prinos said of Young’s comeback.

Initially feeling the pressure of the moment according to coach Prinos, a more relaxed Young kept a slim lead at 3-2 before taking three more games in a row to lock up a huge win for the junior captain.

Alana Prinos continued to dominate in the first singles spot with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Scituate’s Niki Lazaris. Her sister, Emma, had just as much success over on court two where she did not give up a single game to Haley Malerbi in the 6-0, 6-0 straight set victory,

Despite looking strong in the first match, Mary Harris and Meg Carter couldn't hold the lead as they fell to Roisin Sullivan and Emily Richard, 6-2, 2-6, 5-10.

The Sailors’ second doubles team of Caroline Kiddie and Casey White had no problem beating Caroline Muise and Morgan Milender, as the Scituate duo was victorious, 6-1, 6-3.

Getting past Scituate, the only thing on the Warriors mind now is revenge. With a year to think about last year’s final match, nothing would make the Warriors happier than avenging last year’s defeat to the Hillers.

“We hope to get revenge and that’s what we’re going to be looking for on Saturday.” Prinos said.