The annual Haverhill City Tennis Tournament began play over the weekend at the John J. Lynch Memorial Tennis Courts at Winnekenni Park. Saturday's matches went off without a hitch, but Sunday's semi-final and final matches were rained out.
That sets up a big tennis weekend on Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21, when semi-finals and finals will be played as well as the entire doubles tournament.
The semi finals are scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. with the singles final being contested on Sunday at 9 a.m.
So far in the singles tournament, there has been plenty of action. Top seed and defending champion Ray Reed of Amesbury cruised to the semi-finals with a pair of easy victories. His semi-final opponent will be Haverhill's Todd Proia, who also advanced with two convincing triumphs.
The other two semi finalists had a much more difficult path. Andover's Tom Flannery will face Eric Schulz of Newbury. Flannery, the No. 2 singles player at Central Catholic, outlasted Tournament Director Peter Lynch, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a two-and-a-half hour quarter-final marathon. Schulz advanced by stunning 2006 Champ Ken Paul, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, in a second round match en route to his semi-final berth.
Entries are still being accepted for the Doubles Tournament. Contact Lynch at 978-373-3083 or e-mail at llynch3693@msn.com for more information.
