Queens of Class S!
It's been years in the making for the Westbrook girls' tennis squad, a powerhouse in its own right for campaigns stretched far back, and the Shoreline Conference champions-and owners of an undefeated 22-0 record-finally realized their dream of winning their first-ever state championship on June 1 at the Yale Tennis Center. Facing third-seeded Stonington-which has seen the state final for the past six out of seven years-the Knights boasted skill, speed, a killer backhand, and perseverence throughout the two-and-a-half-hour-long match.
With No. 3 singles player and senior Erica Martel notching a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory over Mollie Kam and first doubles tandem Kathlyn Cyr and Sarah Chapell following closely behind with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Abby Walk and Lauren Valetti, Westbrook took an early 2-0 lead. Within a half hour, third doubles players Meghan Provost and Chloe Vincente lost to Emily Gardner and Meg Rolfe 6-2, 6-1, and No. 2 singles player Taylor Amendola lost a solid match to Chloe Slater at No. 2 singles by the scores of 6-3, 6-0 to allow Stonington some momentum as the match was tied at 2-2. Second doubles tandem Callie Burns and Lydia Murphy gave the Knights the advantage with their 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 victory over Hannah Faliauski and Emily Boxton and that left the overall score at 3-2 in favor of Westbrook with two matches left to be played.
Pulling out a gritty, come-from-behind victory, No. 1 singles player and junior Caroline Barton won the first set 6-4 and after falling behind 5-2 in the second set, came back point-for-point in a matter of an hour's time, defeating Stonington's powerhouse Annika Burgess 7-5 to give the Knights the fourth win of the match and an official state title. Capping off the celebration was Liza Goldberg at No. 4 singles, who also battled through a two-hour-plus match, winning 7-5, 7-5 over Taylor Sturtz to make the final score 5-2 in favor of the state champion Knights.