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Knights' Murphy Held Serve on Success with New Partner

It's sometimes hard to make a change, especially when things are going so well, but Lydia Murphy proved that it can be done with her play on the tennis court this spring.

The Westbrook junior was coming off of two straight undefeated regular seasons with fellow junior Callie Burns as her partner. Yet to strengthen the overall Knights' squad, pieces had to be moved around, and Lydia was part of the shifting by being paired up with sophomore Anna Schneider. Lydia demonstrated little trouble adjusting to a new running mate, as she and Schneider went 12-6 as Second Team All-Shoreline members and State Open qualifiers in helping the Knights earn a perfect regular season and reach the Class S state final.

"It's incredible the season we had. I knew Anna my sophomore year, and we didn't know we'd be playing doubles together until about a week before our first match," says Lydia, who is also a captain on the Westbrook field hockey team. "Although we hadn't played together previously, we worked hard together. It took time testing out each other's styles, I would say we clicked by midseason. We had an amazing season and had fun."

Lydia truly showed her selflessness by welcoming a new partner to benefit her squad in its quest to reach a second state championship match in three campaigns. On a mental level, though, she was in sync with Schneider from the get-go.

"I wasn't surprised when I found out, because I knew changes had to happen for us to stay competitive as a team," Lydia says. "I knew I had to do what was best for the team. I took on a leadership role for the two of us during tough matches, yet Anna also has experience, and we both knew we had to step up our level of play. We are also very close in both skill and personality."

Lydia recalls that the tandem was tipped off on their eventual partnership in late preseason practice, and she adds that the two display versatility by splitting the positions right down the middle.

"We mostly knew about it when Coach [Paula] Fitzgerald kept putting us together in drills, but then we just worked hard and learned our styles," says Lydia. "After a tough loss against Old Lyme's team for us, we knew they were tough. We still felt we played our best match, and right then was when I felt that we were getting better and clicking as a team. We share the roles of playing at the net or back 50/50, so it's made for a good transformation."

Fitzgerald had nothing but total confidence in Lydia's adjustment to the new lineup, as she knew Lydia had the expertise based on her underclassmen prominence.

"Change is tough for anyone but for the team it was an important move," says Fitzgerald. "Lydia had two years of experience playing at first doubles and was getting an experienced tennis partner in Anna Schneider, so we knew it would all work out."

Through the course of the season, Lydia reports they took a real technical approach to become an even better pairing. As far as the overall campaign for the Knights, Lydia feels that few can touch what they've accomplished since that first state crown in 2012.

"We worked on down-the-line shots, which we knew we had to do to avoid the net player, along with staying consistent in the back, angling, and cross-court shots. We knew our strengths and what we had to do," says Lydia, who thanks her sister, Jenny, parents, Daniel and Sandra, along with Fitzgerald, Knights' assistant coach, Nicole Giangreco, Burns, and Schneider. "It's incredible here, because tennis isn't a middle school sport, so you don't have trained players. I think the turning point for us was in 2012 when we beat Weston in states; we looked around and said we could do it. We had strong singles and amazing doubles this year and had an amazing, hard-fought game [4-3 loss] in the final versus Northwest Catholic."