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Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Youth reigns supreme as Wellesley sophomore Kimmy Tai impressively wins individual girls' tennis title
In a dominant display on Monday afternoon at Babson College, fourth-seeded Tai rolled past fifth-seeded Zhang, 6-3, 6-3, to claim the girls' state title. Tai emerged from a field of 68 entrants from private, public, and prep schools across the state. The event was run by the United States Tennis Association for the second consecutive year. 'Once I had a pretty decent lead, I knew what I should do, what my strategy was,' Tai said. 'I just had to keep grinding it out, keep moving, and then attack the ball when I could.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Natick's Grace Zhang was stretched to the limit in her state final loss to Wellesley's Kimmy Tai. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Advertisement In the semifinal round earlier on Monday, Tai defeated top-seeded Maya Muhunthan, a senior from Acton-Boxborough, 6-3, 6-4. Zhang topped No. 14 Sophia Lirio, a freshman from Notre Dame (Hingham), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. The final was a rematch from last year's Round of 16, when Zhang eliminated Tai, 6-3, 6-2. But Tai's year-over-year improvement was evident Monday, especially in her ability to finish points with crisp winners on both her forehand and backhand. 'There's a huge jump from last year to this year in terms of her game,' said Wellesley coach Rob Miller. 'It's much more aggressive, and she's always been mentally tough … a lot of the players she beat were good players, it wasn't like she just cruised to the finals. So I'm just really proud of her.' Advertisement Wellesley's Kimmy Tai was strong on both the forehand and backhand in Monday's singles final. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Tai is 6-0 at first singles and 13-0 at second singles this season for Wellesley, playing behind fellow sophomore Bella Gopen — last year's individual tournament runner-up, who opted not to compete in this year's event. Due to her close proximity to Babson, Tai even drove home to refresh herself between the semifinal and championship match, which took place roughly two hours apart. Tai's teammates from Wellesley were also on hand, providing the only teammate cheering section of any competitor on Monday. 'I really enjoyed their support,' Tai said. 'And their songs were so cute, and their cheers every time I hit a good shot — the support really helped.' For Tai, the three-day run also was validation of her stamina — she had never previously played six matches in three days — and provided further confidence headed into the MIAA state tournament, where Wellesley will look to repeat as Division 1 state champions. 'Even if I'm down or I'm having to play really hard, long points, if I push through I know I can do it,' Tai said. Sophomore Sienna Solorza (left) and freshman Emily Zhu from Newton South were dominant in winning the girls' doubles final Monday. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff Young Newton South pair takes doubles crown Though Newton South freshman Emily Zhu and sophomore Sienna Solorza have played second doubles for the Lions this season, they entered the weekend confident they were among the top squads in the 17-pair field. And though the young duo was pushed by some of the state's top veteran duos, they ultimately passed every test. In the girls' doubles championship on Monday, Zhu and Solorza surged to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, victory over top-seeded seniors Lindsey Grosberg and Nina Gill of Lincoln-Sudbury. Advertisement 'I thought we could probably get to the finals,' said Zhu, 'but we got it done here.' Zhu and Solorza have notched an unbeaten record at second doubles, but needed to work past other teams' top doubles pairings throughout the weekend — namely Boston Latin's Gisele Ngo and Maya Nguyen (6-2, 7-5) in a tough semifinal. The pivotal stretch in the championship match came late in the opening set, when Zhu and Solorza trailed 5-4 and needed a service break to stay in the set. The pairing went on to win two games in a row, and then prevailed in a tight tiebreaker to seize control of the match. 'We had to forget about the score,' Solorza said. 'We get a little tense sometimes and [commit] some unforced errors, but we just needed to talk to each other between every point. We're really good at communicating. And I think we worked really well together.' Matty Wasserman can be reached at
Boston Globe
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Five high school sports takeaways from a Saturday stacked with dramatic finishes on the lacrosse field
Before we dive into the rest of Saturday's highlights, check out our daily sport roundups: 1. No-no's and milestones Watertown senior Lucas Pizzuto tossed a no-hitter in a 22-1 win over Fitchburg. Advertisement With two goals and one assist in a 10-4 loss to North Reading boys' lacrosse, Essex Tech junior Mason Gadbois joined the 100-point club. He has 61 goals and 41 assists in his career. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 2. Three stars Tyler Moody , Danvers — The eighth grader couldn't be stopped, totaling 12 points with seven goals and five assists in a 17-5 win over Hamilton-Wenham boys' lacrosse. Related : Zoe Spector , Newton South — The freshman launched a two-run homer as part of a four-hit, five-RBI performance in the Tigers' 17-5 win over Masconomet girls' softball. Viet Tran , Lynn Classical — The senior earned Lynn City Tournament MVP honors after laying down 15 kills in the finals, a 3-0 boys' volleyball sweep for the Rams, who captured the city crown for the second year in a row. Advertisement 3. Going, going, gone In his first varsity at-bat, BC High senior Liam Wagner cranked a two-run homer, helping the Eagles top Lincoln-Sudbury, 11-2. Related : In addition to Spector's two-run shot for Newton South, teammate Riley Cabrera had a two-run blast of her own, finishing with four RBIs. Brynn Kew and Harper Wade homered for Nauset softball in a 22-10 loss to Bristol-Plymouth. 4. Daily lacrosse leaderboard Goals Tyler Moody , Danvers, 7 Ava Nason , St. Mary's, 6 Sara MacLeod , Billerica, 5 Ally Orquiola , Wilbraham & Monson, 5 Lexi Davos , Norwell, 4 Rex Friedholm , Lincoln-Sudbury, 4 Sophia Fruci , Walpole, 4 Emily Hagan , Walpole, 4 Jake McGuirk , Norwell, 4 Elle Murphy , Cardinal Spellman, 4 Points Moody, Danvers, 12 Tommy Cyr , Danvers, 7 MacLeod, Billerica, 7 Cooper Dunham , Danvers, 6 Hagan, Walpole, 6 Caitlyn Naughton , Walpole, 6 Colten Russo , Masconomet, 6 5. Commitment corner One of the most honored athletes in state history, Shawsheen's Sid Tildsley announced his commitment to wrestle at Harvard. Tildsley, a four-time Globe All-Scholastics wrestler who set the state record for wins and became a four-time All-State champion, three-time New England champion, four-time Division 1 champion, four-time Lowell Holiday champion, and a three-time All-American. Related : On the gridiron, Tildsley At Harvard, he will be teammates with former Milton wrestler Mason Pellegri . crimson is the new purple… — Sidney Tildsley (@sidtildsley12) Clinton's Abdiel Zapata , a 6-foot-3-inch guard who attended Bridgton Academy this year, announced he will play basketball at Suffolk. 100% committed beyond blessed AGTG‼️ — Abdiel Zapata ✞🇩🇴 (@abdielzapata12) Brendan Kurie can be reached at
Boston Globe
18-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Danvers sophomore Kaylee Wescott vaults to state individual gymnastics title with beaming performance
Danvers sophomore Kaylee Wescott tumbles to gold in her floor routine Monday at Tewksbury High. Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe Just off the podium in 2024, Wescott dominated this year, capturing three event titles. Her Yurchenko layout vault earned her the day's highest score across all events, a 9.75. Her form and confidence earned her a 9.55 on balance beam, and her difficult tumbling saw her lead the way on floor exercise with a 9.675. Advertisement 'Today vault went best,' said Wescott. 'Usually it's floor, but today it was vault.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Newton South's Hirst has been one of the revelations of the season. Coming in as the fifth seed, she took second on the uneven bars with a 9.275, and fifth on vault with a 9.475 after hitting her Tsukahara pike. 'I'm glad that my hard work all season paid off,' said the Lions senior. Newton South's Amelie Hirst performs on the balance beam at Monday's State Coaches gymnastics individual championship at Tewksbury High. Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe Despite her success this season, Hirst's team did not make sectionals, but she was hopeful that her performance Monday would earn her a berth at March's New England championships. Moran's third place was not only exciting for the sophomore, but also for the Beverly program. It marked the best finish for a Panthers gymnast at the State Individual meet since 2015. Moran showed consistency and focus throughout the day, especially in hitting her double back as her opening pass on floor. 'It feels amazing,' said Moran, was eighth at this meet last year. 'I have to thank all of my teammates and all of my coaches for their support. I couldn't have done it without them.' Wilmington/Bedford's Lexie Masters took fourth place (36.85), while King Philip's Abby Lefebvre (36.75) rounded out the top five in the all-around. Acton-Boxborough's Hanne Ridley emerged the victor on a tough day on uneven bars, winning the apparatus with a 9.35. She finished 10th overall (36.4). Advertisement Lexie Masters from Wilmington/Bedford performs her floor routine. Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe Kat Cornetta can be reached at
