The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls tennis team fell 0-5 in the Division 3 state championship title match against Dover-Sherborn Sunday evening at MIT.
Dover-Sherborn was the number one seed in the tournament and arrived at the final game with a 16-0 regular season record. The Vineyard was seeded third and was 15-1 in regular season play. The state finals loss put them at 19-2 overall.
The Vineyard faithful arrived in big numbers, with a fan bus leaving the Island at noon. With the crowd cheering them on, the girls team did not go down without a fight. Although the three singles players lost in straight sets, both doubles teams pushed their Dover-Sherborn opponents to three sets.
At first singles Laina Dubin lost 3-6, 2-6, Charlotte Marshard lost 3-6, 0-6 and at third singles Ellie Pennington lost 1-6, 0-6.
The first doubles team of Zoe Treitman and Leah Thomson lost 2-6, 7-6, 1-6, while the second doubles team of Ella Moran and Clementine Zeender lost the first set 0-6, 6-4, 4-6.
Coach Bill Rigali said he was proud of the team for going so far this year.
“The improvement over the last year, we’re very proud of and [also it was] a special two weeks in the tournament,” he said. “The playoff run for the two weeks was great. We won some amazing matches and had great crowd support, so I’m proud of the girls coming through with that.”
Mr. Rigali said the match was a teaching moment for the young team. Only three of the starting seven players are seniors.
“When you get to the last two in any sport, in any competition, there’s always different styles and different matchups,” he said. “That’s the beauty of tennis. You can win different ways. So the girls who are coming back can learn from this, and we’re very proud of them.”
Pennington, who is a graduating senior, said she will miss the team camaraderie the most.
“Even though we lost, we’re enjoying it,” she said.
She added that it was a great opportunity to reach this level.
We’ve had a really good season,” she said. “Last year we got knocked out at the start of the tournament and this year we’ve made it all the way to the finals so it’s really big deal and I’m proud of the team.”
Assistant coach Eddie Stahl is confident that the young team will be back to the state finals again.
“We’re looking good for the years to come, and as long as we have all this great support, the kids are going to keep coming out in front,” he said.
While being presented with their silver medals, the girls were all smiles, embracing each other and the fans.
“Today’s result doesn’t really reflect the fact that we’ve had a great season,” Mr. Stahl said. “The girls had a lot of fun, and being here, win or lose, was so special for all of them.”
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