NEW HAVEN – While the title of best tennis player in New England was still a long way from being decided on a steamy Tuesday afternoon, the heart and desire of the players was on display in the form of Noah Bragg.
Bragg, a resident of Brookline, Mass., saw his hopes of advancing deep into the tournament in the 18s dashed with an early loss, but the fact that Bragg was even on the courts at Yale University was a testament to his character.
Last year, he suffered a serious injury – one serious enough to force him to miss his high school tennis season.
That was a bitter pill to swallow for the senior-to-be at Milton Academy.
"It was really tough to miss the year because we were a really close team and we probably had a shot at winning a championship," he said. "A lot of the guys who I was very close with were seniors, so not having a final chance to play with them was hard."
Noah Bragg
Bragg, 17, has big aspirations for his future and those include playing college tennis at the highest level possible.
"I want to play Division 1, of course, but there are also some great Division 3 schools that I’d be thrilled to play for," he said. "To make that happen, I had to really step up my game this summer."
In order to step his game up, Bragg put in the work to rehabilitate his injury and work on his skills at the Sportsmen’s Tennis Club in Boston, and when he was finally healthy enough to resume competition, he had some serious ground to make up.
"The most important step was for me to qualify for (the Section Championship)," he said. "I was ranked somewhere around No. 80 in the 18s, so I had to play my way up."
Bragg did that, moving all the way up to No. 17 in a few short months.
"I had to play a lot of tennis to get there," he said. "Each tournament, I made it a point to improve one aspect of my game."
Bragg was impressed with the level of competition at Yale.
"The one thing that you know right away playing here is that nobody is going to give you a match," he said. "At this level, there’s a lot of talent and a lot of kids hungry to win, so every point is tough."
Although he admitted his body is fatigued from his quest to climb the rankings, Bragg isn’t about to rest.
Next week, he’ll head to Denver for a national tournament.
Talented Trio
The Lord family of Bloomfield, Conn. created a buzz at the Section Championships. The talented trio, which includes Dayna, Melissa and little brother Matt, each picked up wins in their first-round matches.
Dayna, playing in the 18s, Melissa (16s) and Matt (12s) all began playing tennis around age 5.
Dayna (left) and Melissa Lord
"Our parents were looking for an activity for us and tennis seemed like a good fit," said Dayna. "It’s just been something all three of us have loved to do."
More impressive than their on-court accomplishments is the attitude each possesses.
Both Dayna and Melissa are recent recipients of a USTA New England Junior Sportsmanship award, presented to the boy and girl in the 12-and-under, 14-and-under, and 16-and-under age divisions who exemplified sportsmanship qualities on and off the court during the year.
The singles winners were: Nolan Paige (Fairfield, Conn.), boys’ 18s; Benjamin Tso (Lexington, Mass. (boys’ 16s); Catalin Mateas (Braintree, Mass.); boys’ 14s; Weston Brach (Dover, Mass.), boys’ 12s; Jillian Rooney (Boston), girls’ 18s; Melissa Lord (Bloomfield, Conn.), girls’ 16s; Nicole Frenkel (Winchester, Mass.), girls’ 14s; Lexi Milunovich (New Canaan, Conn.), girls’ 12s.