Girls Varsity Tennis Delivers Another Convincing Win
Spring finally showed its face on Saturday afternoon as Deerfield’s varsity team squared off with visiting Taft School. The sun was out and temperatures hovered around 70 degrees for this match. We were grateful for the pleasant weather as many of these matches turned into marathons.
The final score of 9-0 for Deerfield does not tell the whole story. Taft came to play and the competition was stiff, particularly in the singles contests.
Deerfield took care of business in doubles– sweeping their Taft opponents and going up 3-0 on the scoreboard. Tori Waterfall and Ashley Manning settled in and pulled away after dropping a few early games. This veteran pair works so well together; they will make it very tough for teams to match up this season. The match featured some fantastic moments, with both teams hitting steady, aggressive volleys.
The singles phase yielded compelling singles contests at several positions. Daphne Gavros fought in a back and forth battle throughout the first set to tie at six. For the second straight match, Daphne pulled it out during a tie break, winning 7-3. She continued to punish the ball down the lines during her second set and won with a comfortable 6-2 result.
Tori Waterfall’s match started with her setting the pace and dynamic. The first set went for Deerfield, 6-1. To the Taft player’s credit, she made adjustments in the second set and turned this into a much tighter affair. After a 4-6 loss for Deerfield in the second, the match entered a ten-point super tiebreaker to determine the third set. The score stayed close all the way through. Tori gained an edge breaking her opponent’s serve and setting up match point. Drawing her opponent into the net, Tori then hit a gorgeous lob that landed a few feet inside the baseline. It was a fitting close to an expertly played match.
Emma Weech’s third singles match also featured its share of drama. Like Tori, Emma won the first set handily. As the day wore on, the competition became tighter. Emma had to pull out every trick she had to close this match out. It was an impressive mental win on a long, warm afternoon. With a 6-6 result in the second set, the players entered a seven point tiebreaker. Emma relied on her steady approach tempered with well-timed winners to take the match 7-4.
The team looks ahead to a road match at nearby Suffield on Wednesday, April 17th.
Individual Results:
Doubles:
- Manning/ Waterfall: W, 8-4
- Weech/ Genender: W, 8-1
- Rao/ Gavros: W, 8-3
Singles:
- Isha Rao, W 6-1, 6-0
- Ashley Manning, W 6-3, 6-3
- Emma Weech, W 6-2, 6-6 (7-4)
- Daphne Gavros, W 6-6 (7-3), 6-2
- Tori Waterfall, W 6-1, 4-6, 10-8
- Sophia Genender, W 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 5, 3, 4