The Garnets Girls’ Tennis season ended October 13 when the doubles team of senior captain Alex Manning and junior Maggie Tolley lost to Clarkstown North in the second round of conference play.
By Melanie Cane
The Garnets Girls’ Tennis season ended October 13 when the doubles team of senior captain Alex Manning and junior Maggie Tolley lost to Clarkstown North in the second round of conference play.
After beating White Plains 6-2, 6-0 in the opening round, the pair won their first set against Clarkstown North 6-4. They lost the second set by the same score and had match point 9-8, then 10-9 and wound up losing 12-10 in a heartbreaker.
Tolley and Manning, who play first and second singles, respectively, during the regular season, said they were both “on their game,” during the two matches and that the Clarkstown match was “incredibly head to head and could have gone either way. We concentrated even though we may have had some double faults.” Unfortunately, after Tolley lost her serve at break point, “they began to unravel.” The girls were disappointed, but “knowing that we were together and playing our best was all that mattered.”
The Garnets finished in the middle of the league, with a couple of girls having standout seasons.
Freshman Niki Francis won tough matches at first doubles and moved up to third singles, where she had a winning season. Nicole Vereczkey, who played 4th doubles with different partners, was undefeated.
Win or lose, the team had a fantastic season. Tolley summed it up this way: “The team’s support and encouragement for one another never wavered. The girls always knew how to lift my spirits throughout this tough season.”
Coach Anthony Campbell, Manning and Tolley are looking forward to starting the squash season.