Martlets Compete at KO Invitational

3/28 and 3/29 

Ethan Na

Varsity Boys Tennis

Kingswood Invitational Tennis Tournament 

After a quick 2 days of practice upon return from Spring Vacation, a few Martlets made the short trip over to KO for the annual KITT tournament. A cold/windy Saturday made for a longer day and start the weekend. 

The first two rounds of doubles began Saturday, which saw the Martlets lose their two matches in each respective draw. Liam Hibbard ‘27/Alex Brown ‘27 played reigning finalists and #1 seeds from KO in the first round. After a slow start, they battled through many tight games to finish a respectable 6-2;6-3 loss. In the backdraw they played another very strong team, this time from Hotchkiss, and played them tight with a 8-4 loss. 

Will Henry ‘26/Finn Hocking ‘26 had similar results in the #2 doubles bracket. In their first round match against Hotchkiss, they played many deuce games in a 7-5;6-1 loss. Their backdraw saw them take on a tough team from Deerfield, playing many competitive points and a few more deuces games but dropped that match also. 

Moving onto singles which saw the majority of action on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, Liam Hibbard ‘27 played a tough opponent from Deerfield in the first round of the #1 singles bracket, battling hard to a 6-1;6-4 loss while playing some good tennis all around. He returned Sunday to take on another solid opponent in the backdraw, falling 8-5 in a good match from Kingswood Oxford. 

Alex Brown ‘27 fought very hard in his first match on Saturday against a very aggressive player from Lawrenceville. After dropping the first 2-6, he battled from a break down several times in the second set before falling in a set breaker. This momentum led him into a good performance Sunday against Hall with an 8-2 win in his first backdraw match. He played some great points in his final match against Hotchkiss, which was an 8-3 loss in a result that was much closer than the score indicated. 

Finn Hocking ‘26 battled through his first match in the #3 singles bracket. After going up early, his opponent made several smart adjustments throughout the match. Finn battled through and hung with him for the entire match before falling in 2 breakers, 7-6;7-6. Finn played some excellent tennis Sunday in his two consolation matches, defeating opponents from KO(8-3) and Deerfield (8-4) to win the backdraw in the #3 singles bracket. 

Will Henry ‘26 played a good match against a solid player from Choate, dropping a competitive 6-4;6-2 decision. Will played hard but his opponent was a little too powerful on this occasion. As all the players did, he had to battle the elements outside on Sunday, winning a close match 8-6 against Kingswood. This match was the definition of winning when you do not play your best. He played a second match outdoors later in the day with an 8-3 loss to Hotchkiss. 

Overall, the Martlets battled hard in every draw and played many competitive matches all around. The Martlets battled the elements (wind, sun, cold) all weekend and played some great tennis. The matches this weekend all preview potential matchups later in the season and the Martlets appreciated the experience of playing strong players. The weekend was a long one but one enjoyed by all the Martlets. The dual match season begins this week with back to back matches Tuesday and Wednesday against Hall High and Choate.