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08/13/2014 12:00 AMIt was a preseason filled with faces in different places and some questions going in, but Hand girls' tennis steered away from any and all doubts with its stellar regular and postseason play.
Following a 14-1 regular campaign, the Tigers took down rival Amity for the second-straight year to again win the SCC Division I title in a 4-3 matchup-Hand's second consecutive league D-I crown, third straight overall conference title, and sixth in its last seven seasons. While Head Coach Kitty Palmer feels that a three-peat was uncertain in early April, she said the girls willed themselves to make it a reality.
"It was a season going in that not much was expected of us, and the girls really stepped up and achieved more than I could have wished," said Palmer, whose team fell in the quarterfinals of the Class L State Tournament as the No. 5 seed to those same Spartans to finish 17-2 as a whole.
The Tigers were led by co-senior captains in No. 1 doubles partners Gabby Diotalevi and Megan Sosensky, who shared not only team MVP honors but were also named co-Most Outstanding Player of the SCC Division I Tournament. It was Sosensky's first year playing the doubles circuit, and the pair suffered only one defeat through the SCC draw.
"With the leadership of our captains, Gabby Diotalevi and Megan Sosensky, the girls improved all season and rose to the challenge of SCCs," said Palmer. "Beating Guilford [6-1] in the semis and Amity in the finals was a season highlight."
After the two squads split the four singles matches at that very SCC championship duel, Hand took contests at No. 1 and 3 doubles with the latter being the decider after sophomores Ryann Corniello and Sabrina Colonese-DeBello etched out a three-set victory to earn the Tigers a SCC three-peat. Corniello and Colonese-DeBello took the upper hand in their clash with Amity's Rebecca Bullers and Lauren Zorena thanks to a 6-3 opening-set victory, while the Spartans battled back in the second to win by that same margin before Hand's duo grabbed the pivotal 7-5 triumph in the third.
In singles competition for Hand, No. 3 player and junior Clara Wang prevailed, as she made quick work of Jamie Hashem. Wang took the opener 6-1 before cruising to a 6-0 sweep to win in straight sets. At No. 4, freshman Ankita Roychoudhury didn't lose a single game in her contest versus Julia Forbes, coming out on top 6-0, 6-0.
Junior Ana Grosso took a 6-1, 6-1 loss at the No. 1 slot against Amity (15-2) counterpart Victoria Li, and rounding out solo action, No. 2 senior Meghan Hart dropped 6-0, 6-0 sets to Claire Foster.
Moving to the doubles courts, the Tigers' tandem of Diotalevi and Sosensky moved their way to a lengthy straight-set win. The pair edged out Rebecca Lettick and Daphne Kreiger 7-6 first prior to a 6-3 triumph the following set. In additional 2-on-2 action, the No. 2 doubles pairing of senior Erin Hart and sophomore Sheila Flaherty fought valiantly in a three-set defeat (7-5, 1-6, 1-6).
As a good amount of the roster returns next spring, Palmer maintained that her squad aims to stay a top contender in the SCC prize fight.
"I am looking forward to next year as a freshman, five sophomores, and three juniors received a lot of match experience this year," said Palmer. "We will need to continue to improve to challenge again in the SCCs next year."
Juniors Grace Cummings, Giuliana Grosso; plus sophomores Oliva Hiller, Alicia Imbergamo; along with freshmen Grace Squitiero, and Renee Tracy completed the Hand squad.