Molly Keshin, Sports Editor
@mollykCourant
Girls
Coming in to the 2015 season, seniors Sarah Lovejoy and Katie Means and junior Caroline Gordon were ready to take the reigns as tri-captains and lead the girls tennis team to another successful season. For the team, the bar was set high after surpassing key opponents Ridgefield and Trumbull, and holding their own in a tough loss to Greenwich. The girls headed into FCIACs with high hopes after finishing the regular season with an 11-6 record, but they fell to ultimate rival Darien 7-0 in the Quarterfinals.
Sarah feels that even though it was tough for the girls to lose in the FCIACs to the Blue Wave, they are satisfied with the effort they put into the match. “Darien is one of the best teams in the league, no doubt, and we wanted to beat them because of the rivalry, but it just wasn’t our match” Sarah said. “But during that match and throughout the season, we have had a lot of opportunities to come together as a team, which really brought us closer, and it kept us focused so that we could have a winning season.”
Boys
This spring, with the leadership of senior co-captains Patrick Hompe and Tom Barber, as well as major contributions from many underclassmen, the boys tennis team was able to dominate the courts. They ended
the regular season with a record of 14-2, which allowed them to clinch the East Division. A key victory over Ridgefield in the first match of the season set the boys on a track headed straight for FCIACs, and a hard-
fought 4-3 loss to Staples, who at that point was undefeated for two seasons, gave the team momentum heading into matches against top-seeded opponents.
During conference play, the boys had been undefeated until they played Greenwich, the team who they would later face in the FCIAC Semifinals. Junior Sam Havens feels that the loss in the Semifinals did not accurately reflect their effort and the season as a whole, because most matches went into three sets and others, including his own, forced tiebreakers.
“Greenwich is a tough team because they have a lot of really talented players, but everyone put up a fight,” Sam said. “At the beginning of the season, I think that we underestimated ourselves because we didn’t expect to beat strong teams like Ridgefield, Warde, and Ludlowe. But this season was definitely a success because we made it so far into FCIACS, and the team seemed so much more connected compared to last year.”
The boys continued into the States tournament ready to take it one step further than FCIACs, and they pulled through. The boys came together to win the Class L State Championship, and they look forward to trying to go back-to-back next season.
