WALLINGFORD — It was a performance a full season in the making, and then some.
Sheehan senior Connor Reed, who began 2014 hospitalized and temporarily paralyzed by Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, made his long-awaited return to the tennis courts Thursday for the team he captains.
Reed not only had a hand in Sheehan’s 7-0 sweep of Immaculate-Danbury, he finished off the night with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 2 doubles.
Not only that, Reed landed an ace on match point.
“It summed everything up perfectly,” said Reed. “It was surreal.”
Reed was surrounded by 40 friends and family, as well as some of the nurses who helped him back to health during his months of treatment and subsequent rehabilitation from ADEM, a rare inflammatory disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Several months ago, a few miles from the Sheehan High tennis courts, Reed was at Gaylord, essentially relearning how to walk.
“I got tired toward the end of the match,” Reed said Thursday night. “After the match, I got home and I just bawled my eyes out. It was a very emotional day for me.”
Reed teamed with fellow senior Matt Pereira. There was a definite strategy in the pairing.
“He’s a soccer player, so the plan was that he would cover a lot of ground,” Reed said. “That’s basically what happened.”
Thursday was Senior Night. All seven players in action for the Titans were seniors.
The singles victories were posted by No. 1 Carl Thurston (6-0, 6-1), No. 2 Joe Chordas (6-0, 6-0) and No. 3 Tommy Laydon (6-1, 6-0).
Mike Neelon and Dave Truong were 6-3, 6-0 winners at No. 1 doubles.
Immaculate forfeited No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles.
The Titans finished the regular season at 12-8. They will compete in the CIAC Class M tournament at Yale on Saturday.
Lyman Hall 7, Career 0: The Trojans (11-10) geared up for their Saturday trip to the CIAC Class L tournament with the SCC victory at Edgewood Park in New Haven.
Kyle Bonet had the highlight win, charging back at No. 4 singles 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 in his first varsity singles match.
Carlo Arellano also won a three-setter, taking the No. 3 singles match 7-4, 4-6, 10-8.
No. 1 Jose Venegas (6-2, 6-0) and No. 2 Adam Murphy(6-3, 7-5) won in straight sets.
Ryan McEvoy and Mike May led the doubles sweep for LH. Sam Henry and Xeusong Li battled to a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 2. Matt Aguiar and Logan Metzger did the same at No. 3 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.
Glastonbury 7, Platt 0: In a makeup of a CCC interdivisional match twice rained out, the Panthers were swept in Glastonbury.
In preparation for Saturday’s Class L tournament, the Panthers overhauled their lineup, pairing No. 1 and No. 2 singles players Jeff Pellegrino and Adrian Kurzatkowski at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 Jon Hernandez and No. 4 Tim Moro at No. 2 doubles.
GIRLS TENNIS
Maloney 6, Platt 1: The Spartans and Panthers completed a match that Maloney already had in the books before rain intervened last Friday.
Michaela Phonkhoumphon wound up earning Platt it’s lone point, defeating Maloney’s Mickee Thompson in three sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Maloney (11-4) will play in the CIAC Class M tournament on Saturday.