The Deerfield Varsity ladies had a nail-biter of a match on Saturday afternoon at the Taft School. The weather was pleasant and sunny for this competition, and the team played tennis in comfortable conditions at last. This close victory was among the best team wins the squad has put together in recent years. It took every ounce of effort to edge this formidable Taft lineup. The match was competitive at every position – doubles included. Taft staged come from behind wins at both second and third doubles. Credit is due to those pairs for their ability to adjust and dig in. At first doubles, it was the Deerfield ladies who mounted the comeback. Down 5-6, Manning and Waterfall pulled ahead 7-6 and then went on to win in yet another tiebreaker 7-5. This pair is growing accustomed to finding success in tight spots. The singles matches provided a sustained dose of drama as the afternoon wore on. Sophia and Emma won their matches in two sets. Relentless baseline play and steady volleys won the day in these two contests. Ashley and Claire both fell in two close sets. Their Taft opponents worked hard for these points, while the Deerfield girls showed no quit. The final two matches still in action were Tori Waterfall at fourth singles and Catalina Llorente at sixth. Deerfield needed both these matches to win the day. Both players had lost close first sets, and the team was up against the wall. Tori won the second set 6-2 and started a super tiebreaker for the third set. She dropped the first four points and then went on a tear. Minutes later she delivered an ace to win her match! The team gravitated to Catalina’s court. Having just wrapped up a one-sided second set 6-1, Catalina had the momentum on her side. As the third set super tiebreak began, she too went down 0-4. Settling in, she went on a seven-point run before giving up another point. With all eyes on her court, Catalina finished off the third set breaker 10-7, securing the dramatic win for Deerfield! This match was a fantastic example of showing grit in the face of obstacles. Deerfield’s ladies were down but never out. The team looks to carry this mentality into another busy week with Suffield visiting on Wednesday.
Doubles:
Manning/ Waterfall: W 8-8 (5)
Weech/ Genender: L 5-8
Koeppel/ Llorente: L 5-8
Singles:
Manning: L 4-6, 4-6
Weech: W 6-2, 6-2
Genender: W 6-2, 6-1
Waterfall: W 4-6, 6-2, 10-6
Koeppel: L 4-6, 2-6
Llorente: W 5-7, 6-1, 10-7