In their home opener, the varsity girls faced the bearcats from Hotchkiss. With co-captain Harbour Woodward still recovering from an injury, much of the Deerfield team had to play up a notch – and did so with poise and grace. The evens played the first round of matches. Junior Sasha Hinckley at #4 totally dominated her opponent and junior Emily Henderson at #6 showed her mental toughness with her 11-4, 15-13, 12-10 win. While Isabella Rolfe ‘21 improved with each game, she still fell to the accomplished Hotchkiss #2. In the second round of action, the odds took to the courts, and junior Soo-Min Lee won handily at the #5 spot. Junior Katie Parker at #7 won her first game before giving up the next three in a close match, and in her DA debut, Griffin Dewey played hard, scrambling after every ball, but she still lost to the skillful veteran Hotchkiss #3. The match score was 3-3 when co-captain Ashley Manning, playing #1, stepped onto the court for her fifth game against Hotchkiss’s senior co-captain, playing at the top spot for the bearcats for the fourth year in a row. In front of the large home crowd, Ashley went on the attack and with pinpoint accuracy executed a great come-from-behind victory, giving DA the 4-3 win.