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04/29/2019 12:00 AMThe Westbrook girls’ tennis team surpassed the halfway point of its season by playing matches against Cromwell and North Branford last week. With wins in both contests, the Knights are sporting record of 8-3 on the year. After claiming a second straight Shoreline Conference title in 2018, Head Coach Paula Fitzgerald is hoping that her team can reach those heights once again with a relatively inexperienced squad this year.
The Knights only returned four players from last season’s team, and many of their athletes are learning to play tennis for the first time. Still, Westbrook has shown great improvement throughout the first half of the campaign, and Coach Fitzgerald said that she’s been impressed with the results.
“We had no clue what to expect this season. We only had four kids returning. We returned 1 and 2 singles, and the other two played 3rd doubles,” said Fitzgerald. “We had to teach some kids to hold the racquet on the first day. We’ve come a long way.”
On April 23, the Knights headed to Cromwell, where they defeated the Panthers by a score of 4-3. Westbrook was bolstered by a 6-0, 6-0 victory from senior captain Sara Farnoli at the No. 1 singles position. Farnoli’s sister, freshman Julia Farnoli, earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot. Westbrook also received victories on the doubles court from its No. 1 duo of Savannah Marshall and Lexi Koplas, who posted a 7-5, 6-2 victory; as well the No. 3 pairing Juliana Fabrizi and Gianni Salisbury, who triumphed by a 6-1, 6-1 final.
“These 4-3 matches are usually tense, but this one not so much, as we won four of the first five matches played,” Coach Fitzgerald said. “The best match of day was the quick match at No. 3 doubles by Juliana Fabrizi and Gianni Salisbury. It was quick, and it handed us the fourth point of the afternoon.”
The next day, Westbrook picked up another 4-3 road win, this time against North Branford. Sara Farnoli (6-1, 6-1) and Julia Farnoli (6-3, 7-5) were victorious in their singles matches. On the doubles side, the Knights’ No. 2 tandem of Alex Young and Olivia Archer netted a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win, while Fabrizi and Salisbury claimed a 7-5, 7-5 victory at the No. 3 spot.
Coach Fitzgerald was pleased with how her team performed in its second matchup versus the Thunderbirds. Westbrook went up against North Branford in a home match to open the season and took a 4-3 defeat. Last week’s victory showed how much the Knights have improved and how hard they’ve worked to get there.
“We wanted to use this as a benchmark of how far we have progressed, knowing that North Branford would have improved since our first match, also. North Branford took a solid lead 3-1, but we fought back to win with both 2nd and 3rd doubles winning their close-fought matches,” said Fitzgerald. “I feel this team really bonded as players and parents sat through every agonizing point, and credit to the players for never folding.”
The play and leadership of senior captain Sara Farnoli has been a key factor in Westbrook’s success this spring. Farnoli is undefeated with a record of 11-0 while facing the opposition’s top players at No. 1 singles. Farnoli is coming off of an outstanding 2018 campaign in which she went 16-4 and finished second in the Shoreline Conference No. 1-2 Singles Tournament. Coach Fitzgerald said that Farnoli is playing even better than last year and is doing everything she can to help her teammates learn the game.
“Sara finished second in the league last year. I think her game has grown, and her confidence has grown in her play. She’s much more relaxed in her playing. It’s never easy at No. 1,” said Fitzgerald. “She’s done a great job, especially considering how new most of the people are on the team. She’s spent time with all of them, working on their game. She’s as much a mentor as a captain. She’s gone above and beyond what a captain does. She has expectations for the team.”
Julia Farnoli is having a great debut campaign at the No. 3 singles position. Like her sister, the freshman owns an unblemished record on the year.
“Julia Farnoli has been a fighter all season,” said Fitzgerald. “She’s fought for every win in her matches to stay undefeated at 11-0.”
Junior Sarah Davey is playing No. 2 singles for Westbrook with freshman Gabriella Koplas competing out of the No. 4 spot.
Westbrook has several newcomers in its doubles lineup this season. Senior Savannah Marshall and junior Lexi Koplas are playing No. 1 doubles for the Knights. Marshall competed for Westbrook as a sophomore, and Koplas is playing tennis for the first time. Coach Fitzgerald wants the tandem to rely on their athleticism in order to stay competitive.
“We told them to just be athletes. They are just starting to get it,” said Fitzgerald. “We told them they can be major spoilers, and they should be the team that no one wants to face in the Shoreline.”
As her club dives deeper into its season, Coach Fitzgerald wants her team to keep learning and improving as the year goes on. Fitzgerald believes that the Knights have a chance of seeing success in the playoffs if they continue at this pace.
“The better we do during in the regular season, the better position we’ll be in the tournament,” said Fitzgerald. “We’re inexperienced, but I think they’re all having fun at it, and we’re doing a good job as a team. Just because we’re new at this doesn’t mean we can’t be good.”
From the Sidelines
The Westbrook girls’ tennis team’s roster includes senior captain Sara Farnoli; fellow seniors Alana Bochanis and Savannah Marshall; juniors Olivia Archer, Sarah Davey, Juliana Fabrizi, Lexi Koplas, Kendall Orlowski, and Alexandria Young; and freshmen Marlee Archer, Julia Farnoli, Gabriella Koplas, Gianni Salisbury, Sadie Susi, and Alexandra Zanzalari.
Paula Fitzgerald is in her 29th season as Westbrook’s head coach. Nikki Esposito is the Knights’ assistant coach.
Thus far this season, Westbrook has recorded wins versus Haddam-Killingworth (5-2), Morgan (6-1), Coginchaug (6-1), East Hampton/Hale-Ray (7-0), Portland (7-0), Old Saybrook (5-2), Cromwell (4-3), and North Branford (4-3).
For the rest of the season, the Knights have home matches against Haddam-Killingworth, Morgan, Old Lyme, and Cromwell, as well as road contests against Valley Regional, Coginchaug, East Hampton/Hale-Ray, Old Saybrook, and Portland.