The Gloucester boys tennis team faced its first tournament test of the spring on Wednesday at home — and the Fishermen passed with flying colors. After finishing the regular season with a 13-5 record and securing the No. 6 seed in Division 3 competition, Gloucester welcomed No.
27 Norton to town on a beautiful afternoon at the recently renovated high school courts. Head coach Derek Geary's group came out focused and ready to play, establishing themselves early and often en route to a convincing 5-0 win. All five matches were won in straight sets, proving just how much depth the Fishermen possess.
"Good first round. We did what we had to do to move on and I thought everybody played solid today," said Geary. "We feel like we're a team of depth where we've got eight or nine guys that can play at the varsity level, and you saw some of that today.
" Without the services of first doubles player Dom Paone, Gloucester bumped Cam Widtfeldt up from second to first doubles. Playing alongside first doubles mainstay Luke McElhenny, the newly formed duo didn't miss a beat, taking their match by a 6-2, 6-1 score. "Cam stepped up as he's done at times this season and was terrific," said Geary.
"Julian Nixon has been another guy that's stepped in and played as a sophomore, and he's really had kind of a breakout season which has solidified our depth." Nixon was called upon once again in the tourney opener. The second-year player actually carried out a "fourth" singles match, as visiting Norto.
