This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
04/24/2016 12:00 AMThe Westbrook girls’ tennis team had a perfect week by posting four victories in as many matches with wins against Shoreline Conference foes Old Lyme, Haddam-Killingworth, Old Saybrook, and Morgan. The Knights are now 8-1 on the season after their stellar stretch.
First up on April 18, Old Lyme visited the Knights and Westbrook took the match in dominating fashion by the final score of 6-1. In singles play, No. 1 player and junior Casey Burns defeated Emily Berault 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 senior Anna Schneider had the Knights only loss, 6-2, 6-4, to Marissa Smith; No. 3 competitor Sara Farnoli topped Shannon Nosal by identical 6-4, 6-4 scores; and No. 4 Katie Xenelis shut out Samatha Calkins 6-0, 6-0. Westbrook swept Old Lyme in doubles action with the No. 1 pair of Maddie Archer and Victoria Koplas beating Hattie Wilczewski and Silja Rice 6-1, 6-2; the second tandem of Olivia Fabrizi and Marilyn Ulanowicz defeating Maeve Kolb and Caroline Wallace 6-0, 6-2; and the No. 3 team of Keysi Jara and Alyssa Esposito winning by default
“I really have to compliment the team and the JV for all being here. It was vacation week for Westbrook and all of them were here, which showed a lot of dedication and made a big difference for us this week,” said Head Coach Paula Fitzgerald. “I give them credit for that.”
The next day, Westbrook traveled to Haddam-Killingworth and the Knights triumphed by a 5-2 final over the Cougars. Westbrook took three of the four singles matches, led by Burns beating Emily Beck in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Schneider defeated Abby Schultz 6-3, 6-4; Farnoli bested Autumn Leavitt 6-0, 6-1; and Xenelis lost 6-3, 6-0 to Alivia Smith. In doubles action, the Knights were victorious in two of the three matches with the No. 1 duo of Archer and Koplas winning 6-4, 6-0 over Jacie Hamilton and Nikki Clemente, plus Fabrizi and Ulanowicz prevailing 6-2, 6-1 versus Hannah Stankiewicz and Shauna Pazsak, while H-K’s Abby Larkin and Lindsey Johnson squeaked out a three-set victory over Jara and Esposito, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.
“This was a makeup match and we played well,” Coach Fitzgerald said. “The big match was Casey Burns versus Emily Beck, who are considered the top two players in the league right now. Casey played a smart, focused match and was able to pull off the victory.”
Playing in their third match in three days, the Knights visited rival Old Saybrook and won a nail-biter by the margin of 4-3 on April 20. The Knights played strong in the singles matchups. First, Burns won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. At second singles, Schneider easily won the first set 6-2, but the Rams’ Tanya Gianitsos battled back with a 7-5 win in the second to force a winner-take-all third set. Schneider then won the decisive set 6-2 to take the match. At No. 3 singles, Farnoli rallied from a first-set loss to claim a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory. In the No. 1 doubles contest, Westbrook’s pairing of Archer and Koplas pulled out the opening set in tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-2), and then earned the decision by taking the second set 6-2.
“Indicative of the match was the last point with not what you would call ‘classic tennis,’ but great hustle on both teams’ part with [Archer and Koplas] putting the ball away giving us a 3-2 match lead.” Fitzgerald said. “With third singles and third doubles still in play, Sara Farnoli, only a freshman, showed determination and unwillingness to give up after losing a close first set 4-6, then playing inspired tennis to win the last two sets for the fourth point, giving us the team victory.”
In its final contest of the week, Westbrook topped Morgan 6-1 at home on April 22. Burns defeated Emma Phelps 6-1, 6-0; Schneider topped Riley Smith 7-5, 6-2; Farnoli won over Gabrielle Rodriguez 6-0, 6-3; and Xenelis shut out Rebecca Cockley 6-0, 6-0. For doubles, Archer and Koplas took the Knights’ only loss with 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 defeat to Brenna Andrews and Lily Cummings of Morgan. Fabrizi and Ulanowicz defeated the Huskies’ Grace Hull and Yashvean Rai 6-1, 6-2; plus Jara and Esposito came away with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win against Marie Beltran and Rebecca Walton. With the victory, the Knights climbed into first place in the Shoreline Conference at 8-1.
“The goal we made for ourselves is to make the State Tournament and I think we are on our way. This team has already accomplished a lot already. After losing seven seniors off last year’s team, we weren’t supposed to be as strong, but nobody told the girls that,” Coach Fitzgerald said. “Casey is undefeated and won the league the last two years, Anna at No. 2 knows what to do to be successful, and the others have been playing great. I give these kids all the credit.”
From the Sidelines
Paula Fitzgerald began coaching the Westbrook girls’ tennis team in 1990.
The Knights have won nine Shoreline Conference titles, along with one state championship in 2012, during Fitzgerald’s tenure as coach.
Nikki Giangreco is in her seventh year as the assistant coach for the Knights.
The captains for this year's squad are Anna Schneider, Katie Xenelis, and Casey Burns.