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06/28/2016 12:00 AMYear after year, the North Haven girls’ tennis team displays why it’s one of the top programs in the Southern Connecticut Conference and the recent campaign was no exception for the Indians.
Head Coach Bob Migliorini’s squad matched its 2015 regular season record of 11-7, returned to the SCC Division I Tournament while improving its seed by one spot from last year, and once again competed in the State Tournament. Along the way, North Haven posted a big 6-1 regular season win versus Cheshire and blanked Fitch 7-0 in the qualifying round of the Class M state bracket. The Indians then lost to the 2nd-seeded Barlow in the next round to complete the season with an overall mark of 12-9, marking a one-win improvement from the previous year.
Of course, a huge aspect of the Indians’ success stemmed from the fact that they featured quality players throughout their singles and doubles lineups this season. Included in that mix were Julia Migliorini, who had a remarkable freshman year at No. 1 singles; sophomore Rachel Petry, who moved from doubles to the No. 4 singles spot; plus the new No. 1 doubles pairing of senior captain Julia Gill and junior Sejal Atluru. Something else that Coach Migliorini felt played a part in North Haven’s prosperity was the fact that his athletes brought right attitude to the court.
“I think overall the morale on the team was good. We had girls that wanted to win, work together, and practice hard. It was an enjoyable team to coach,” said Migliorini, who was in his eighth season as head coach with assistance from Justin Simon and Sherry Migliorini. “We had a good bunch of girls. We had a big team with 20 to 25 people. Our starting lineup was pretty consistent for the most part and it was a fun team to coach and be around.”
North Haven’s top player was Migliorini, who made an immediate splash in the No. 1 singles spot that had been previously held down by her two older sisters, Alyssa and Emily. Migliorini finished with a record of 22-2 and qualified for the State Open Championship, where she won two matches to reach the third round. She earned All-SCC and All-State honors, was named the SCC Division I Player of the Year, and was also selected as the Indians’ Most Valuable Player.
“Julia exceeded expectations in terms of what I thought she could do and she has a lot of room to get even better. Julia was not only the strongest player on the team, but was one of the strongest players in the state. It’s up to her in terms of how hard she wants to work to reach whatever level she wants to. She has the talent to reach whatever level she wants,” Coach Miglorini said. “I was very happy with the season Julia had and look forward to coaching her another three years. When you have a No. 1 singles player as strong as Julia, it makes it that much easier to put together a strong lineup by building it around her.”
North Haven saw juniors Olivia Hoyt and Hillary Hoyt both advance one rung up the singles ladder by playing the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively, this season. Each girl finished with a winning record as Olivia went 11-10 at No. 2, while Hillary posted a mark of 15-5 in the No. 3 slot. Olivia will captain the Indians next year with Atluru and Nina Padro.
“The competition got tougher for Olivia through the course of the season and it was more of a challenge than last year in comparison to who she was playing. It was a big jump up and she competed effectively. Olivia is a good, steady performer who’s a hard worker in practice and a team player,” said Migliorini. “Hillary is the same as her sister in that she works really hard, is steady on the court, and keeps the ball in play. She doesn’t beat herself and she got better as the season went on. Our strength was the singles lineup and she was a big part of it.”
Petry also proved a key component of that lineup her first year on the solo circuit. Petry netted a record of 15-4 at the No. 4 singles position.
“Rachel has a lot of potential moving forward. She worked early hard in the offseason and that’s one of the reasons she stepped into the singles lineup,” Coach Migliorini said. “Rachel tended to overpower players with the way she hit the ball. She’s a good player, a gutsy player. We have our complete singles lineup returning next year, which is a huge plus.”
Turning to doubles, Gill and Atluru formed North Haven’s No. 1 pairing and posted a record of 12-6 that featured a win in the State Open. Migliorini felt that Gill, who played No. 2 singles last spring, would be a valuable addition to his doubles lineup and he was right as Gill wound up being named North Haven’s Most Improved Player. The coach added that Gill and Atluru displayed great chemistry in their first season competing alongside each other.
“Julia’s doubles game improved tremendously through the course of the season. She took it seriously, did really well, and made herself a good doubles player,” he said. “Julia and Sejal were a great pairing with great teamwork and great synergy. The work well together and are good friends and that’s important in doubles.”
At No. 2 doubles, Padro and senior captain Sophie Bates finished with a record of 9-7 in their first year together. Bates was also presented with the team’s Sportsmanship Award and Migliorini said that she and Gill were “outstanding captains and role models for the other girls on the team.”
“Sophie is a double specialist who’s stronger at the net and Nina is a little more of a singles player who’s stronger from the baseline, so they really complemented well in terms of their games and, ultimately, had a good season for us at No. 2 doubles,” Migliorini said. “Sophie was a tremendous co-captain this year who really led by example and led a lot of activities for the team. She just gets along well with all the girls on the team and is a real pleasure to a coach.”
The Indians’ featured another new duo at No. 3 doubles in junior Amber-Jean Guillaume and sophomore Avery Hill, who won six matches. Senior April Chen filled in admirably at all three doubles positions and contributed to three victories.
“Amber and Avery got better as the season went on and a highlight for them was against Barlow [in states]. They were down 5-0 in the second set and came back to make it 5-4 and gave a strong doubles team a run for their money. Amber is stronger at the net, and Avery at the baseline, and we look forward to them coming back and building upon this year,” said Coach Migliorini. “April showed flexibility in all three doubles roles. She has a great attitude and was a real team player who was a three-sport athlete for all four years at North Haven High School.”
North Haven’s roster additionally featured juniors Letcia Avila and Abby McKiegan; sophomores Niti Bidja, Jashan Kang, Roma Moore, Katrina Nadolny, Disha Patel, Alexis Porto, Jennifer Smith, and Jessica Thomas; plus freshmen Zoe Bowerman, Daniella Bryson, Delaney Curr, Lily Mezzi, Jessica Tran, and Melinda Vissicchio.