A marathon match with Taft on Saturday ended in a narrow loss for Deerfield’s varsity girls. Every single match was hotly contested in a match that featured four tiebreakers. Deerfield started strong, winning first and second doubles. At first doubles, Ashley Manning and Tori Waterfall developed fantastic rhythm and volleyed their way to an 8-2 victory. At second doubles Gillian O’Connor and Esme Benjamin found success with aggressive net play and won 8-4. The new third doubles pair, Claire Koeppel and Lisa Chen, lost 4-8 in a back and forth set that eventually went for Taft. Ashley Manning’s first singles performance was an impressive show of grit. The first set went to a tiebreaker which Ashley dominated 7-0. In the second set, Ashley struck a winning formula and won 6-2. Tori Waterfall’s second singles match was as close as they come. The first set ended in a tiebreaker which Waterfall lost 5-7. In the second Taft went up 5-0 quickly but Tori battled back with three straight wins before Taft’s Kate Zhang took her sixth game. Gillian O’Connor lost two sets 5-7, 5-7 despite steady play. This match featured many impressive points in which both players closed to the net and pushed to hit winners. Esme Benjamin’s fourth singles match ended with a successful tiebreak to complete the first set, and a rained out second set which Benjamin was leading 2-0. Lisa Chen played with consistency and patience at sixth singles, winning the first set 6-4, losing the second 4-6, and dropping a tiebreak for the third 3-10. Deerfield has an immediate opportunity to register a win as the team travels to Westminster, Monday 4/17.