Mt. Blue doubles player Ryan Haszko eyes the ball in a boys’ tennis match against Cony High School in Farmington on Wednesday.Mt. Blue doubles player Andrew Haszko swats ball in a boys’ tennis match against Cony High School in Farmington on Wednesday.Mt. Blue doubles players and brothers Ryan Haszko (front) and Andrew Haszko are set for action in a boys’ tennis match against Cony High School in Farmington on Wednesday. The Haszko brothers defeated Cony’s Garrett Brown and Bryant York, 6-3, 6-0. The Cougars won, 5-0.Mt. Blue doubles player Tristin McFarlane serves the ball in a boys’ tennis match against Cony High School in Farmington on Wednesday.Ryan, left, and Andrew Haszko are a doubles team for Mt. Blue High School and are two reasons why the Cougars are having a winning season.
FARMINGTON — Andrew and Ryan Haszko are devoted brothers who serve up hilarious one-liners as well as a tennis balls.
They are two reasons why the Mt. Blue High School tennis team turned around a 1-3 start and is now 6-3 after beating Cony High School, 5-0, on a warm and hazy Wednesday afternoon.
“I think we are a better team overall and I am not surprised that we won,” sophomore Ryan Haszko said.
Ryan points to his brother’s support for making the victory possible.
“Whenever I do something bad, he tells me and I accept it better than if another person told me,” sophomore Ryan Haszko said.
The Haszko brothers took down Cony’s Garrett Brown and Bryan York, 6-3, 6-0. The victory was icing on the cake for sophomore Ryan Haszko because it was his birthday.
The Haszko brothers are like a Smothers Brothers act off the court. But when this doubles team gets together, this band of brothers is all business.
“As brothers, we communicate really well,” senior Andrew Haszko said. “We have been playing tennis together for awhile, taking lessons so we know what the other is going to do — and just living together our whole lives helps a lot.”
“Feels good to have a birthday win. My birthday is on Friday.”
But there is another pair of brothers who are also courting success. Tom and Chris Marshall are singles players who have also helped the Cougars set a new course this season. Tom Marshall beat Cony’s Sean Tierney, 6-3, 6-2 and Chris Marshall dismissed Alex Stewart, 6-2, 6-0.
“We started out the season rough,” Mt. Blue boys’ tennis coach Zac Conlogue said. “We played some tough guys, but we have struggled hard and finally found our rhythm. We have won five in a row now so it is pretty nice.
“We have kind of took on this attitude — junkyard dog were we just scrap out wins. No matter how we get it we get to every ball we can. We get on the attack when we can. It isn’t always pretty, but we get the job done.”
Mt. Blue’s Joe Crandall completed the sweep with a win over Jake Whitlay, 6-3, 6-2. The Cougars’ second doubles team of Cole Dorman and Jake McFarlane dropped Cony’s Gavin Martin and Isaac Philbrook, 6-0, 6-0.
“We are playing a team today that has a tradition of winning and experience this year,” Cony tennis coach Tom Hinds said. “There 6-3 after today. They are well coached, well prepared. They work hard in the off season and it shows up on days like this.”
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