The Newtown High School boys’ and girls’ tennis teams have had a strong season thus far. The boys’ team entered May with a record of 6-2, and the girls’ team is standing strong with a record of 5-1 to start the month.

Boys’ Coach Shawn Tierney says the Nighthawks have a good chance of placing second in the South-West Conference, while girls’ coach Maureen Maher hopes her team wins the rest of its matches and finishes among the top teams in the SWC.

“This year we’ve got a larger team, which has been great because, sadly, we will be losing our seven seniors, but we have plenty of strong players to fill new roles,” said Nancy Anderson, assistant coach with the girls.

The girls defeated New Fairfield 7-0 at home on April 26. In singles, winners were Willow Assante-LaBash (6-0 6-0), Nadia Andrew (6-0 6-0), Madison Singlak (6-0 6-0), and Sophia Dutsar (6-0 6-0). In doubles, winners were Kristen Reisert/Caitlin Briggs (6-1 6-0), Joey Libero/Margaret Donovan (6-1 6-0), and Jamie Rowan/Ella Morits (6-2 6-1).

With a team of 20 players, the girls have plenty of confidence.

“We are currently having a very successful season. I believe that our healthy environment and close friendships have a part in our success,” junior Ella Mortis said.

The boys’ team also played New Fairfield and won 7-0 on the road on April 26. In singles, winners were Aditya Singh (6-0 6-0), Frankie Cannizzo (6-0 6-1), Alex Kyprianou (6-0 6-2), and Andrew Sposato (6-0 6-0). In the doubles, winners were Theo Anderson/Ryan Hislop (6-0 6-0), Liam Conlin/Michael Lawlor (6-0 6-0), and Cam Linnetz/Zach Ansari (6-0 6-0).

In addition to the success of the upperclassmen both coaches have noted that the freshmen have made a great impact on their teams as well. On the girls’ team Andrew and boys’ players Singh and Cannizzo helped Newtown in recent matches.

“We’d be a different team without the freshmen,” Tierney said.

Coach Maher highlighted the surprise of having talented freshmen, led by the No. 2 singles player, Andrew.

“Nadia is a very talented player. It’s always a nice surprise with a player like that,” Maher said. “She came in this year, I did not know her or that she was going to be on the team. She’s a USTA player, she works really hard off season and is as nice as could be.”

According to coaches and players, these teams are confident they will succeed in the remainder of the matches this spring.

Deirdre Smith is a Newtown High School junior and an intern for The Newtown Bee.