The girls buckled down for a long day at St. Paul’s on Saturday and came home with another nice 5-2 win for their still-undefeated season, bringing their record to 8-0 as they move past the halfway point in the term.
Things started off nicely for the evens. #2 sophomore Talbot von Stade traded games 11-7, 7-11 with her extremely talented opponent, then dug in and won 11-4, 11-6 for a nice Deerfield point. Senior co-captain Isabella Geraci at #4 went 11-9 in the first game then sped up 11-2, 11-6 on her way to yet another win. #6 junior Janis Chen suffered her first loss of the season, dropping her three games 6-11, 3-11, 8-11 but sticking with it until the bitter end.
Over in the odds, ninth-grader Daly Baker had her closest match of the season at #1, but put away the win 3-0 as usual with wins 11-5, 11-6, 11-6. Senior co-captain Olivia Geraci at #3 got another nice 3-0 for Deerfield despite some very tight matches, 11-9, 11-7, and a nail-biting 14-12 in the third game, giving Deerfield wins in the top four spots. Senior Tori Waterfall at #5 had an intense set too, losing 10-12, 8-11 before coming back to grab an 11-5 victory. Ultimately, Waterfall’s opponent held on and eked out an 11-9 win to take St. Paul’s second and last point of the day. Junior Helen Mak had a nice short match for a change, winning 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 to give Deerfield a victory at the #7 spot.
In exhibition, senior Cameron Garner’s “redemption tour” (Garner transferred from St. Paul’s and faced off against her former team on Saturday!) was doubly successful as she won 3-0 at #8 (11-9, 11-7, 11-6) and in another exhibition match at #10, 2-0. Ninth-grader Isha Rao fought hard in yet another five-setter at #9, losing 5-11, coming back with two wins 11-6, 11-4, but dropping the last two, 8-11, 3-11. Chen repeated to round out the exhibition and won 11-4, 12-10 for a 2-0 W.
The team looks forward to its final match before Long Winter Weekend, at home against Williston’s varsity team.