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06/06/2021 12:00 AMAfter coming up one win shy of claiming a SCC title, the Hand girls’ tennis team wanted to come back strong in the Class L State Tournament. The Tigers did exactly that by winning all four of their matches in the Class L bracket to take the state crown, finishing up their run with a 7-0 victory versus Avon in the championship match on June 3. This marks the fifth state title in program history for the Tigers, who finished their season with an overall record of 19-3.
Hand notched a 4-3 win over St. Joseph in the first-round of the tournament, followed by 7-0 wins over Pomperaug and Maloney in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The day after the semis, the top-seeded Tigers squared off against No. 3 seed Avon in the state final at the East Hartford Tennis Club and blanked the Falcons by a 7-0 score to take the Class L championship.
Senior captain Lindsay Riordan earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory for Hand in the No. 1 singles match. Junior Claire Langille claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles; sophomore Laila Haraj-Sai won a 7-5, 6-4 decision at No. 3 singles; and senior Eileen Chen was a 6-3, 6-4 winner in the No. 4 match to help Hand sweep singles play.
Hand also had a clean sweep on the doubles court versus Avon. The Tigers’ No. 1 team of juniors Breanna Colonese-DiBello and junior Zhu Zhu Berger notched a 7-6, 6-1 victory; the No. 2 duo of senior captain Paige Van Ostenbridge and junior Bella Vejar prevailed by a 6-3, 6-4 score; and the No. 3 tandem of senior Eliza Beccia and sophomore Libby Rogers recorded a 6-0, 6-0 win to help Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s squad cap off an outstanding campaign with a state title.
“The season was a huge success. We finished 19-3 and our only losses were to Amity, which showed that we had strength throughout the lineup,” Coach Palmer said. “We had 115 individual matches won and only 37 lost. Because Amity only lost in the Class LL finals, that proved that the SCC was a league to be reckoned with throughout the state.”
While the Tigers posted shutouts in their last three matches of the tournament, they had to grind out a 4-3 victory over No. 16 St. Joseph in a first-round contest on May 29. Riordan claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles for Hand, while Haraj-Sai won three-setter by a 6-7, 7-3, 6-4 score to help the Tigers split the singles matches.
Hand won two of the three doubles matchups to edge out St. Joseph. Colonese-DiBello and Berger earned a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles with the No. 3 team of Beccia and Rogers winning a 6-2, 6-0 decision.
Coach Palmer said that St. Joseph proved to be Hand’s toughest opponent of the entire season.
“Our best and most memorable match was our first-round match against St. Joseph in the State Tournament,” said Palmer. “St. Joseph is a Fairfield County team, and we knew their [9-7] record coming into the tournament was deceiving, because they played tough teams all season. Halfway through the 4 ½-hour match, I told the other coach that this match should have been the final.”
After withstanding a scare from St. Joseph, Hand hosted No. 9 seed Pomperaug in the quarterfinals the following day and notched a 7-0 victory. Riordan netted a 6-0, 6-1 win; Langille earned a 6-1, 6-1 win; and Haraj-Sai and Chen both posted 6-0, 6-0 shutouts in singles action.
In doubles play, Colonese-DiBello and Berger recorded a 6-3, 6-0 win; Van Ostenbridge and Vejar won a 6-1, 6-0 decision; and Beccia and Rogers triumphed by a 6-1, 6-0 final to finish off the victory for the Tigers.
The day after that, Hand defeated No. 4 seed Maloney by a 7-0 score in a semifinal home match. Riordan took care of business with a 6-0, 6-1 win; Langille notched a 6-0, 6-0 win; Haraj-Sai was a 6-3, 6-3 winner; and Chen earned a 6-0, 6-0 victory for the Tigers in singles play.
For doubles, Colonese-DiBello and Berger netted a 6-0, 6-0 shutout; Van Ostenbridge and Vejar won their match 6-0, 6-1; and Beccia and Rogers claimed a 7-5, 6-3 win as Hand advanced to face Avon in the Class M final.
Coach Palmer felt that Hand was in great shape to defeat Avon with the state title on the line. The Tigers proved Palmer’s premonition true with a 7-0 shutout to bring the Class M crown back home to Madison.
“When we survived St. Joe’s, I felt we had a good chance if we played well. Avon had beaten North Haven in a close match [in the semifinals], so I knew we would be favored since we beat North Haven twice,” Palmer said. “You never can be sure until the girls get on the court. I was proud of their performances throughout the tournament.”
With the victory against Avon, the Tigers not only won their fifth state title in team history, they also claimed the first state championship for any Hand team since the winter of 2020.
“All 16 girls were very happy, and I was very proud of all of their efforts all spring,” Coach Palmer said. “They stayed healthy, played well, and they supported one another. We were a true team.”
In addition to everyone who competed in the State Tournament, Hand’s roster also features juniors Charlotte Berger and Ella Scarice, sophomores Liberty Rogers and Rebecca Wahl, and freshmen Hayden Agee and Teagan Ariyan.