Martlets Defeat Gunn

The Martlets made our second long trek of the week, this time to Frederick Gunn School in Washington, CT. Starting with doubles, the Martlets started off slow and went down 3-6 in the #2 and #3 doubles matches. Crosby Cutler ‘27 and Xavier Kahn ‘27 ended up dropping their match 6-8, while Liam Hibbard ‘27 and Finn Hocking ‘26 took their match at #1 doubles 8-6. That left all eyes on #2 doubles, where Will Henry ‘26 and Noah Maltby ‘28 were in a comeback from 2-5 down. After leveling the match at 7-7, they dropped their serve. Fortunately, they were able to step up in the end with improved energy and footwork, to level the match and win the breaker 7-1 for an exciting finish to the doubles point. Moving into singles land, Liam Hibbard ‘27 was first off the court. Playing a crafty opponent who hit everything high with spin, Liam had to make adjustments through the second set. Playing a bit more steady and taking advantage of short balls, he recovered after dropping the first set to take the second 6-2 before dominating the third set breaker 10-2. Jack Pickett ‘26 was next off the court, effectively using his serve and forehand in a dominant 6-2;6-3 win at #6. Finn Hocking ‘26 sealed the win for the Martlets with a 6-1;6-4 win at #3 singles. After a dominant first set, his opponent adjusted in the second set but Finn gritted out a 6-4 win. Alex Brown ‘27 played a hard hitting opponent at #2 singles and played hard but lost with a score of 6-1;6-3. Will Henry ‘26 battled through a tight first set, then dominated the breaker to win the set. He kept this momentum and dominated the second set for the 7-6(0); 6-0 win to put us ahead 5-1. Finally, as light was fading, Noah Maltby ‘28 took a tight first set 7-5. He dropped the second 2-6 to send the match to a breaker. The breaker was tight, but ultimately the home player took the match. The grit and grace award(s) for the match went to Daniel Frid ‘27 and Archie Downing ‘29, who both kindly agreed to play two exhibition singles matches so more of the Frederick Gunn players could play. Both Martlets won their two exhibition matches. The boys enjoyed our stop at Chipotle on the way home in addition to cupcakes and brownies to celebrate Crosby’s birthday. After a long week, the Martlets will enjoy some much needed rest this weekend before getting back to work at Taft on Wednesday.