Crimson Tide Sports Weekly Notebook

By Joe McConnell

Softball needs to win two to clinch postseason berth

As the regular season winds down, the Everett High School softball team (8-10) dropped three straight games this past week to Medford (16-1, May 12), non-league Winthrop (12-1, May 16) and Lynn Classical (18-4, May 18). The Crimson Tide needs to win their final two games of the season against Somerville (May 20) and non-league Cambridge at Glendale later today (May 22) to clinch a state tournament berth.

“Despite the score, I was proud of how the girls continued to compete and support each other throughout all six innings against (visiting) Medford,” said coach Stacy Schiavo. “Defensively, we had some strong moments, especially from Meghan Comerford, who made key plays at shortstop, and Juliette Romboli, who made a great throw from centerfield to catcher Arianna Osorio-Bonilla to prevent another run from scoring early on in the game. We also had good offensive opportunities from players like McKenzie Rivera and Osorio-Bonilla late in the game, but we struggled to get that clutch hit with runners on base.”

The Mustangs scored twice in the first, and tacked on four more runs in the second. They were held scoreless in the third by the Everett defense. But in the fourth, they reached double figures with another four runs. They closed out the offense in the sixth with a six-run outburst, which invoked the mercy rule.

Girls tennis beats Classical to secure fourth win

The girls tennis team (4-13) played two matches last week with mixed results. They first took care of host Lynn Classical, 4-1 on May 12. But the very next day, they lost a close match to visiting Revere, 3-2.

“We came ready to compete against Lynn Classical,” said coach Courtney Meninger.

Brigitte Parada battled through a pair of tiebreakers to earn a hard-fought victory in first singles, 6-6 (7-5), 6-6 (10-7). Trina Le, however, lost in second singles, 4-6, 0-6. Thy Phanhang was credited with a 6-6 (11-9), 6-2 win in third singles.

The first doubles team of juniors Sophia Hernandez and Lizzy Castro dominated Classical’s tandem to win in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

In second doubles, senior Luna Sepulveda and sophomore Abby Falkowski persevered through a competitive three set match to come out on top, 6-0, 5-7, 6-0.

After the road win in Lynn, the Everett girls returned home to get ready for Revere on Senior Day. Before that match, seniors Amelia McNally, Ashley Pineda, Morgan Watkins and Luna Sepulveda were honored for their contributions to the program.

Meninger said of her four seniors: “We are so lucky to have had them on the roster this season, because they showed up every day ready to do anything (for the sake of the team).”

Watkins dropped a competitive third singles match to her Revere counterpart, 1-6, 4-6. “Despite this loss, her growth throughout the season stood out,” said the veteran coach. “(Watkins) joined the team this year, knowing nothing about the sport, but she worked hard every day to improve on the court. As a result of that effort, she competed quite nicely in every match.”

In second singles, Le fell in straight sets, 2-6, 2-6. Despite the loss, Meninger remains optimistic that she will enjoy success in the future. “I’m excited to see how much better Trina gets in the offseason. I know that she has the ability to be one of the best players in the Greater Boston League (GBL) next season,” the coach said.

McNally and Pineda teamed up in first doubles to beat the Patriots tandem, 6-4, 6-4. “It was exciting to see how much fun they both had playing together, while still being competitive,” said Meninger. “They really stepped up this year, playing wherever we asked them to play without hesitation.”

Sepulveda and Falkowski then made quick work of their second doubles opponents to cruise to a 6-1, 6-0 victory to remain undefeated on the season.

“Luna’s competitive nature and work ethic helped her shine on the court this spring,” said Meninger. “She came into the season not knowing anything about tennis, but (quickly) excelled in it.”

The Tide started the final week of the regular season with a 4-1 loss to non-league Mystic Valley at Malden Catholic. They were then scheduled to take on host Peabody, another non-league foe, on May 20 after press deadline, which officially completed the 2026 campaign.

Boys volleyball drops two to rivals Somerville, Revere

The boys volleyball team (4-13) took on Somerville (May 6) and Revere (May 11), only to lose both home matches by scores of 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. “Both of these teams are strong, tall and experience, and are enjoying (much) success this season. But I still liked the way we hung in there against them,” said coach Mike Fineran.

Against Somerville, the Tide boys got better as the match progressed. They lost the first set, 25-15, but narrowed the gap considerably in the final two sets, 25-17 and 25-23.

Junior Akush Gurung connected on 11 of 12 serves, while coming up with six kills. Senior Matheus Teixeira Fernandes was 9 of 10 in serves, and had a team-high nine kills. His classmate Isaque Agostinho accounted for two kills, and Randy Hou, also a senior, chipped in with one.

Against first place Revere, Fineran knew that his team would have their hands full. “We only made back-to-back points once throughout the first two sets. But in the third set, senior Noel Lopez Ardon served up the first five points, Gurung had two kills, Teixeira Fernandes came up with four kills and a block and freshman Miguel Rodovanski aced the last point of the set to give his teammates a 25-19 win to force a fourth set, where the team missed three of its first five serves to dig themselves into an early hole.

But three serves and an ace by junior Donart Maksutaj to go along with two kills from senior co-captain Victor Rosa were able to trim the deficit to five, 18-13. Revere, however, eventually clamped down to take the set, 25-13 to secure the overall match.

Senior co-captain Christian Ramirez was credited with a team-high 11 serves, while his classmate Gustavo Franca stayed perfect on the season. After this match, he had successfully attempted 48 serves this season.

The Everett boys began the final week of the regular season with a 3-0 home loss to Malden on May 18. They then took on host Chelsea two days later after press deadline, before facing non-league Lawrence on the road later today (May 22) at 5 p.m.