Salem and Timberlane battled tooth and nail yesterday, and the Blue Devils won all the odd-numbered matches to eke out a 5-4 victory.
Jared Scali and Blaise Arden combined for an 8-3 victory at third doubles to snap the deadlock.
German transfer student Philipp Becker was a force for the victors, shutting out Stephen Ratte in first singles then joining Tyler Denning to do the same to Ryan Lynch and Doug Robichaud in first doubles.
Ryan Greenleaf also did the same at third singles against Timberlane's Adam Frey, while Jared Scali battled Jared DiOrio to an 8-2 win.
Timberlane needed a little extra to keep up as No. 2 Lynch (9-7) and No. 4 Robichaud (8-5) stepped up big over Chris Bacho and Tyler Denning respectively. Matt Maloney toppled Brad Morriseau at sixth singles while Ratte and DiOrio prevailed over Bacho and Greenleaf at second doubles.
Game Statistics:
Local winners:
Singles: 1. Philipp Becker (S) 8-0; 2. Ryan Lynch (T) 9-7; 3. Jared Scali (S) 8-2; 4. Doug Robichaud (T) 8-5; 5. Ryan Greenleaf (S) 8-0; 6. Matt Maloney (T) 8-3
Doubles: 1. Becker-Tyler Denning (S) 8-0; 2. Stephen Ratte-Jared DiOrio (T) 8-3; 3. Scali-Blaise Arden (S) 8-3
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Eagle-Tribune Publishing Company owns four daily newspapers: The Eagle-Tribune, located in North Andover, Mass.;
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Gloucester Daily Times, located in Gloucester, Mass. The company also owns four weekly newspapers :
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