Medway & Millis April 2020

April 2020 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com Page 23
Sports
Millis Girls Tennis Looking to Finally Get Back to the
Tournament
By Christopher Tremblay,
Staff Sports Writer
It’s been seven years since the
Millis girl’s tennis team advanced
into the State Tournament, but
Mohawk Coach Tom Ingraham
is optimistic that 2020 could be
the year Millis gets back into
post-season play after putting
together a rather successful 2019
campaign.
Last spring, Millis put together
a 6-4 season, and according
to the coach, were just
a couple of sets from making
the long-awaited visit back to the
tournament. In order to accomplish
this goal, Millis is going to
need to have its returners step up
this season after losing both its
number one singles player and
Tri Valley League All Star Kaitlyn
Stallings and its number two
singles player Lily Denman.
Despite losing its top two players
from last year’s successful season,
Coach Tom Ingraham has
the remaining five starters, as well
as a handful of experienced tennis
players, coming back to the
courts this spring. While the official
beginning to the season has
yet to commence at the time of
this writing, Ingraham’s thoughts
of who is going to play where
are just early season projections.
Positions may change depending
on how the challenge matches go
once the team takes to the courts.
After seeing action last year
primarily in the third singles
position, with an occasional afternoon
at second singles, sophomore
Allie Stallings looks to have
her sights set on obtaining Millis’s
number one singles player
this season.
“Playing first singles is brutal,
but she is making a real strong
push for the top spot,” the Millis
coach said. “She has worked
hard during the off-season, and
as a sophomore, she may be our
number one singles player.”
Junior Maddie Donovan, who
began playing doubles last season
and eventually moved up to third
singles near the end of the year
when Denman was hurt, looks to
have second singles in her sight
this year. Ingraham believes the
junior will once again be a clutch
performer for the Mohawks.
Playing doubles with Donovan
last season was Autumn
O’Connell, and this year, she
could quite possibly move up to
singles with her double’s teammate
playing in the third sport.
“Autumn has the potential to
step up this year and play singles
for us,” the Millis Coach said.
“There is definitely a big difference
in going from doubles to
singles; mentally you have to rely
totally on yourself, and there is
much more court to cover. Maddie
and Autumn are both soccer
players, so they can move and
should be able to handle the
courts.”
Ingraham has the confidence
that his two doubles players can
make the jump this season, but
once again, it’s all based on challenge
matches once the team officially
takes to the courts.
On the doubles circuits this
year, its possible that senior captains
Kate Spangenberg and
Grace Magilligan, both elected
unanimously by their teammates,
will be on the same court. According
to the Millis coach, both
girls would like to be on the court
together, but he’s not sure if it
will happen.
“They’re hoping to play doubles
together, but it’s all about the
meshing of the right people,” Ingraham
said. “We need to evaluate
strengths and weaknesses and
do what’s right for the team, not
the individuals.”
Other athletes returning with
some experience from last year’s
team are seniors Mia Coutts,
Emma Rice, Abby Barrett and
Stephanie Hubbell. The coach
has all the confidence in the
world in the four girls, but once
he gets to further see what they
can and can’t do, then he’ll make
his decisions to who will be playing
where and with whom.
Making it into the tournament
may tougher than it seems.
Ingraham believes that the TVL
is one of the better tennis leagues
in the state, especially in the small
April 22 Deadline for Millis Garden
Club Scholarship Applications
Once again, the Millis Garden Club is
pleased to offer a $1,000 scholarship to a student
who is a resident of Millis for at least a
year and either a high school senior or presently
attending a two-or four-year college. To
be eligible, students should have at least a B
average and be pursuing further education in
horticulture, floriculture, landscape design or
architecture, conservation, forestry, agronomy,
city planning, environmental studies, land
management, botany, biology, renewable energy
or allied subjects.
Millis High School students will be able to
access the Millis Garden Club Ken Nichols
Scholarship applications on the scholarship
link on the school website. Students who do
not attend Millis High School will be able to
call the high school guidance office and pick
up the application at the school. All submissions
must be complete and returned to the
school by April 22nd. For any questions,
email Scholarship Committee Chair Barbara
Koman at barbarakoman29@ gmail.com
division playing against Dover-
Sherborn.
“Dover-Sherborn is head
and shoulders the best team in
the TVL, both large and small,”
he said. “Everyone else is pretty
even through the league, so I like
our chances.”
Ingraham stated he’d be a little
disappointed if the Mohawks
didn’t finally advance in to the
state tournament this season
despite losing its top two singles
players. The returning girls are
all hungry and ready to make the
move forward into the tournament
and have even been taking
lessons to improve their games.
While the overall body of the
team looks to improve its game,
one big issue that will get in the
Mohawks’ way is the inability
to practice and play on a home
court. For the third straight year,
Millis will be heading into the
season without having a home
court to play on. Therefore, the
girls will play all their games on
the road away from Millis. It’s a
possibility that the courts will be
ready near the tail end of the season,
but it won’t be known until
then.
Last season, Millis was able
to practice on the Medway
middle school courts, but with
the Medway high school courts
being worked on, they’re forced
to move to the middle school,
leaving Millis without a court to
practice on.
“Having to play all of our
games on the road and practice
outside of our town has been an
inconvenience,” said the coach.
“But with that said, I have got to
give the girls a ton of respect as
no one has complained about the
situation at all.”
While not having the full support
they’d have if they played
in Millis, nor knowing exactly
where each girl will play once the
season gets underway the tennis
team is still planning on taking
to the courts and giving it everything
that they have. Hopefully,
that is enough to finally propel
them into the tournament for the
first time in many years.
.D. MURPHY
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