The Johnston girls tennis team has been in the thick of a playoff hunt as it approaches the midway point of its regular season schedule and is eyeing not only a postseason berth, but a late-season surge as well.
Johnston has an experienced roster with seven seniors and has enjoyed some early success, especially from the singles spots. Johnston entered the week with a 3-3 overall record.
“It’s a fair start, it’s a good start to the season. I think we’ll improve and finish strong in the end. Everybody’s improving,” said coach Ryan Barrette.
Leading the way is senior captain Hannah Lavergne, who sits at 4-2 overall at the top singles spot.
“She’s been in every match and she’s very consistent. She’s very competitive,” said Barrette.
Fellow captain Alessandra Pesare has held down the second singles spot, and a breakout player for the Panthers this fall has been Lauren Dixon. Dixon was bumped from doubles to the third singles spot and has fared very well, boasting the team’s best record at 5-1. The team’s top doubles performer has been Riley Guenette.
The Panthers took on Scituate on Tuesday but the results were not available at press time. The team’s next match will be Thursday afternoon when it heads to Pawtucket to face Shea.
Barrette has had fun coaching the talented Panthers and believes that they will have a chance to find a groove down the stretch and emerge as a top team in the division.
“I’m hoping for the playoffs. We got off to a fair start so I believe that the playoffs are in our future,” said Barrette. “As long as we have a consistent attendance then we’ll be fine. They’re an enjoyable bunch of girls to coach to have around, that’s a plus.”
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