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07/08/2019 12:00 AMThe Westbrook girls’ tennis team turned in an impressive season this year with a number of athletes that had limited experience on the tennis court. The Knights turned in a 15-6 record on the season even though they graduated the bulk of their regular contributors from last season’s team. In turn, much of this season’s players were making their first foray into competitive tennis. Luckily, Westbrook improved throughout the campaign, and Head Coach Paula Fitzgerald’s squad put together an impressive 15-win season.
Westbrook has been the class of the Shoreline Conference in recent seasons, and had won its second-straight Shoreline title in 2018. Even though the team was unable to secure a three-peat at the top of the conference, Coach Fitzgerald thought this season was just as impressive.
“Getting 15 wins was huge, in my opinion. People started to assume Westbrook would win everything since we won the Shoreline the last three out of four years. I think the accomplishment of this team is just as about as big as those teams,” Fitzgerald said. “We thought it was going to be a long season starting seven people who hadn’t played tennis before. You have to give a lot of credit to the players. There were a lot of people looking to get their revenge against Westbrook this year that didn’t get it.”
One of the biggest contributors to Westbrook’s success this year was senior captain and No. 1 singles player Sara Farnoli. Farnoli notched a 20-0 regular season record, and won the Shoreline Conference Tournament No. 1-2 singles bracket, which earned her All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors. Farnoli was also named to The New Haven Register’s All-Area Team and qualified for the State Open. Coach Fitzgerald named Farnoli Westbrook’s Most Valuable Player and said that the captain would be sorely missed come next season.
“Other coaches were telling me how they enjoyed watching Sara play because she developed a complete game. One coach commented that her second serve is a weapon, and another complimented her ability to play the baseline and come to the net,” said Fitzgerald. “I told Sara that when coaches compliment you to your coach that makes it an even bigger compliment. She was a mentally tough player this year, and getting to that point was a four-year learning process.”
At the No. 2 singles spot was junior Sarah Davey, who was a big contributor for the Knights as well. Davey will take the reins as the senior captain in 2020. In the No. 3 spot was freshman Julia Farnoli, and the two will most likely vie for the No. 1 position next season according to Coach Fitzgerald. Julia Farnoli made it to the final of the Shoreline Conference Tournament No. 3-4 bracket and earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors. She also earned the Coaches’ Award.
“On the third day of preseason next year, we’ll have a challenge match between Julia and Sarah and I hope that makes them work really hard in the offseason to get better. Sarah was close but didn’t quite qualify for the State Open, and that was a goal of hers this season. She had a great year overall though,” said Fitzgerald. “Julia only started playing in January. She’s an excellent athlete. There’s still a lot of tennis for her to learn. Her mental toughness and her approach are her strength. She’s in tremendous shape. You have to really beat her because she can run all day.”
In the No. 4 position was freshman Bree Koplas. Coach Fitzgerald believed that Koplas showed a similar game to her older sister Victoria who graduated the year prior.
“Bree has the same style as her older sister, Lexi,” Fitgerald said. “She was in the Shoreline Tournament, and she upset a few people. Bree was hurt at the beginning of the season so it took her a while to get going, but once she did she was able to get some big wins.”
The doubles units for the Knights also played a big part in the team’s success this year. Coach Fitzgerald paired her more novice tennis players with others who had prior experience on the clay and found that made for some strong duos like senior Savannah Marshall and junior Lexi Koplas. The tandem made the State Open and earned All Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention.
“Lexi was in track last season and came to tennis for the first time. She’s a junior this year, but she’s really like a freshman as a tennis player. Savannah came out as a sophomore, but she was hurt last year, which stopped her from playing tennis in the spring,” Fitzgerald said. “So she came back her senior year. Even though she missed the first few games, she played No. 1 doubles as soon as she came back. I have to give Lexi a lot of credit. She just started playing tennis, and she jumped into playing No. 1 doubles. They were both solid great athletes.”
At the No. 2 spot for the Knights were juniors Olivia Archer and Alex Young. They earned Westbrook’s Most Improved Players award as they really jelled throughout the season. Archer will be a captain next year, as well.
“Olivia played third doubles last year, and Alex has the same sort of story as Lexi in that she came over from track without any experience playing tennis,” Fitzgerald said. “They were both good athletes, and since Olivia played last year, she was able to help Alex along. It might not have looked like conventional tennis at the beginning, but the two of them worked it out and became a great team.”
At the No. 3 position was junior Juliana Fabrizi and freshman Gianni Salsbury. Salisbury was thrust onto the court at the beginning of the year with Fabrizi even though she wasn’t that far removed from learning how to hold a racquet.
“An experienced player in Juliana working with a brand new tennis player like Gianni was kind of the theme on doubles. Juliana did a really nice job mentoring Gianni,” said Fitzgerald. “I told the freshmen with no expereince at the beginning of the season that a few of them would have to start a varsity match. They still ended up with a winning record.”
Filling when players needed to rest or nurse an injury were freshmen Sadie Susi and Alexandra Zanzalari. They played an important role in stepping up when the team needed it. Zanzalari earned the Most Improved Player Award for JV.
As for next year, Coach Fitzgerald believes that the Knights will be in a stronger position with several returning players.
“We’re much better off going into this year than last year, even though it was a surprisingly great season,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope the things we talked about at the end of this season the kids work on in the offseason. The shoreline will be very crunched teams talent wise. A lot of teams that finished in the middle of the league don’t have many seniors so the challenge will be tougher next year.
From the Sidelines
The Westbrook girls’ tennis squad’s roster included 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 completed her 29th season as Westbrook’s head coach. Nikki Esposito is the Knights’ assistant coach.
Westbrook’s wins this season came against Haddam-Killingworth (5-2 and 7-0), Morgan (6-1 and 6-1), Coginchaug (6-1 and 6-1), East Hampton/Hale-Ray (7-0 and 7-0), Portland (7-0 and 7-0), Old Saybrook (5-2 and 6-1), Cromwell (4-3 and 7-0), and North Branford (4-3).
The Knights competed in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 12 seed and took a first round loss to Shepaug Valley by a score of 5-2.