Emily Wood
Sports Editor
On Tuesday Apr. 9, the New Canaan girls’ tennis team challenged their arch rivals, Greenwich, and proved superior as they added yet another win to their 3-1 season record. After losing out to the Cardinals in the FCIAC finals last year, the Rams were ready for a comeback. The girls won with impressive doubles performances edging out Greenwich at the last second, leaving the score 4-3.
The matches started off as success as doubles partners, senior Amanda Merjian and sophomore Sarah Lovejoy, grab the first win. The duo beat out Greenwich’s second doubles team, winning with a score of 6-0, 6-3.
Greenwich continued to fight back strong with their singles players, taking the lead after seniors Kate Howard and Jensen Lee both fell to Greenwich’s top players, Sam Stone and Jennifer DeLuca, respectively. With New Canaan down 1-2, senior doubles partners Sara Greene and Kristin Laub were able to pull through with a win of 6-3, 6-4, tying up the matches 2-2.
Freshman Caroline Gordon, who played in the No. 4 singles match, also came home with a win against Greenwich Cardinal, Hannah Kratky. With 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 7-5 victory, the score was raised to 3-3, leaving the overall score dependent on the No. 3 doubles.
Without knowing their match would be the deciding factor, seniors Giuliana Savini and Emma Gruber dominated their doubles match, with an end score of 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. “My partner and I didn’t know that it was 3-3 and our match was the decider. The key to the match was the adjustment we made, which was when our coach, Erin, told us to play two at the base line instead of traditional doubles,” Giuliana said. “We are both very strong at the back and this setup helped play to our strengths.”
With the addition of the nail-biting win, the Rams finished with a winning score of 4-3. “Greenwich is always a close match. They are always are rivals in the FCIAC. I was impressed by our teams will to stick it out and our last match even finished at seven,” Kate said. “It was awesome to see our team support each other, especially during the last three set matches. It was a classic turn out for two competitive teams.”
The girls’ tennis team will play Fairfield Warde on Mon. Apr. 15 at 3:00 p.m. at home.
