Great day, better win!
It was a beautiful day for Tennis, and that was what we got: Beautiful Tennis! Both the Berkshire coach I had agreed on the high quality of play, and the great points that the Ladies played all day. We have fallen to Berkshire the last two years, but we know that we have improved and were ready for the challenge today. In the end, it came down to some truly gritty performances and tiebreakers yet again.
The Doubles was extraordinary to watch. The net volleys on all the courts were something to behold as four, five and six volleys were exchanged on a single point. After falling behind 1-4 at #3, Capt Heidi Reiss'16 and newcomer Tess Toland '17 rallied but came up short 8-4. The usual pairing of Julia Freund '16 and Caroline Reilly '17 traded games for a while at #2 before playing some solid doubles to earn the hard fought 8-4 win. The #1 match was a thing of beauty. Sophia Hartman '16 and Isabel Seaborn '16 paired again. The match was characterized by huge serves, big heavy groundstrokes, and nifty reflex volleys. The shot of the day was by Hartman; after Wray, the PG #1 player on Berkshire hit what looked like a winner wide to Sophia's forehand, she found a way to get to the ball and sling it around the netpost for the winner. While the match was as even as can be, the Berkshire duo made a few more shots at the end to earn the 8-6 victory.
Being down one of our regular players, we went into the singles with some newcomers at the #5 and #6 positions. They more than held their own. At #5 Tess Toland displayed a big serve, deep forehand and solid backhands en route to a 3 and 3 victory. This tied us up at 2! I asked a lot of Tess today and she responded in spades! Her sister, Laura Toland '17, played #6 for the third time this year. Laura is as fierce a competitor as you will find. She fell behind 4-3 in the first set, but won the final three games to win 6-4. Then she fell behind 5-2 in the next set and faced a set point against before winning FIVE straight games. Great gritty performance. With Hartman losing to the big hitting Wray, we were tied 3-3. #2 Seaborn played inspried tennis to jump to a 6-3, 5-0 lead. She moved her opponent around the court, hit winner after winner, played great angles and depth - a fine effort. But a few errors opened the door and her opponent dug in to win 4 straight games. Isabel found her game again in time to stave off the comeback and secure our 4th point. #3 Reilly and #4 Reiss were both in dog fights. Reilly lost the first set 6-4, while Reiss won hers, 7-5. Both fell behind in the second set. Reiss eventually lost that set 6-3 to set up a deciding tiebreaker. As that was just beginning, Reilly was staging a remarkable comeback on court 3. Down a set and 2-5, she began playing aggressive tennis with that great touch volley and powerful groundstrokes to claw her way back to the match. She was just starting a tiebreaker for the second set as Reiss was starting hers. This is such a great moment in team Tennis. As with our Kent and Westminster matches, both squads are cheering on every point in the most respectful, and spirited ways! Reiss fell behind 2-0 and 4-2 before taking the lead 6-4. But her oppoent rallied and they were tied at 8. At the same time, Reilly had really found a groove and pounced on her opponet to win 7-2 - so that match was also going to a deciding tiebreaker! The final two points were nail biters as Reiss and her opponent traded multiple groundstrokes, but Reiss proved too much today. 10-8. And the win for the team as that secured the 5th and deciding point. Reilly finished off her comeback with a dominating 10-1 performance in the supertiebreaker. 6-3.
We also got in some excellent exhibitions, as Kavya Nandigama'17 and Laura Toland won, while Sammy Stroud '15 and Lucy Marquez '15 fought back from an early deficit but eventually lost. Additionally, newcomer Sarah Collins played her usual aggressive game but it was not meant to be.
These were two evenly matched teams, and as I told the girls, the match would go to the team that hit with better depth and angles today - the team that was a bit riskier. Today it was us. And I could not be more proud of the girls. They played to win today, not to not lose. Saturday will see two undefeateds square off. I can't wait.
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The Doubles was extraordinary to watch. The net volleys on all the courts were something to behold as four, five and six volleys were exchanged on a single point. After falling behind 1-4 at #3, Capt Heidi Reiss'16 and newcomer Tess Toland '17 rallied but came up short 8-4. The usual pairing of Julia Freund '16 and Caroline Reilly '17 traded games for a while at #2 before playing some solid doubles to earn the hard fought 8-4 win. The #1 match was a thing of beauty. Sophia Hartman '16 and Isabel Seaborn '16 paired again. The match was characterized by huge serves, big heavy groundstrokes, and nifty reflex volleys. The shot of the day was by Hartman; after Wray, the PG #1 player on Berkshire hit what looked like a winner wide to Sophia's forehand, she found a way to get to the ball and sling it around the netpost for the winner. While the match was as even as can be, the Berkshire duo made a few more shots at the end to earn the 8-6 victory.
Being down one of our regular players, we went into the singles with some newcomers at the #5 and #6 positions. They more than held their own. At #5 Tess Toland displayed a big serve, deep forehand and solid backhands en route to a 3 and 3 victory. This tied us up at 2! I asked a lot of Tess today and she responded in spades! Her sister, Laura Toland '17, played #6 for the third time this year. Laura is as fierce a competitor as you will find. She fell behind 4-3 in the first set, but won the final three games to win 6-4. Then she fell behind 5-2 in the next set and faced a set point against before winning FIVE straight games. Great gritty performance. With Hartman losing to the big hitting Wray, we were tied 3-3. #2 Seaborn played inspried tennis to jump to a 6-3, 5-0 lead. She moved her opponent around the court, hit winner after winner, played great angles and depth - a fine effort. But a few errors opened the door and her opponent dug in to win 4 straight games. Isabel found her game again in time to stave off the comeback and secure our 4th point. #3 Reilly and #4 Reiss were both in dog fights. Reilly lost the first set 6-4, while Reiss won hers, 7-5. Both fell behind in the second set. Reiss eventually lost that set 6-3 to set up a deciding tiebreaker. As that was just beginning, Reilly was staging a remarkable comeback on court 3. Down a set and 2-5, she began playing aggressive tennis with that great touch volley and powerful groundstrokes to claw her way back to the match. She was just starting a tiebreaker for the second set as Reiss was starting hers. This is such a great moment in team Tennis. As with our Kent and Westminster matches, both squads are cheering on every point in the most respectful, and spirited ways! Reiss fell behind 2-0 and 4-2 before taking the lead 6-4. But her oppoent rallied and they were tied at 8. At the same time, Reilly had really found a groove and pounced on her opponet to win 7-2 - so that match was also going to a deciding tiebreaker! The final two points were nail biters as Reiss and her opponent traded multiple groundstrokes, but Reiss proved too much today. 10-8. And the win for the team as that secured the 5th and deciding point. Reilly finished off her comeback with a dominating 10-1 performance in the supertiebreaker. 6-3.
We also got in some excellent exhibitions, as Kavya Nandigama'17 and Laura Toland won, while Sammy Stroud '15 and Lucy Marquez '15 fought back from an early deficit but eventually lost. Additionally, newcomer Sarah Collins played her usual aggressive game but it was not meant to be.
These were two evenly matched teams, and as I told the girls, the match would go to the team that hit with better depth and angles today - the team that was a bit riskier. Today it was us. And I could not be more proud of the girls. They played to win today, not to not lose. Saturday will see two undefeateds square off. I can't wait.
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