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Rams' Girls' Tennis Wins Crucial Match Over OL

In an exciting end to the season for the Old Saybrook girls' tennis squad, the Rams finished the week with a 15-2 mark and, by virtue of that record, won the regular season championship for the Shoreline Conference-the first time in awhile Old Saybrook has worn the crown as its own after having tied Westbrook two years ago for the title.

Helping the Rams to that title were their most recent wins over Valley Regional-which held first place for about a week-and with that 5-2 win over the Warriors, the Rams tied for first and then went on to beat Old Lyme 5-2 on May 15, a victory that propelled them into first place all alone after Valley lost to the Wildcats the previous day.

"I am still amazed that we were able to pull this off. It was really looking like there would be either a two-way tie or even possibly a four-way tie for the conference this year," said Coach Ruthanne Rothman. "The win over Valley was huge and then beating Old Lyme was the icing on the cake for us."

Earning victories for the Rams against Old Lyme were Myeerah Zhang at No. 1 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Knepshield; Christie DeAntonis at No. 3 with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Kaylyn Wiese; Daniela Palomeque at No. 4 with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Meg Trausch; the doubles tandem Mia Neas and Mary Kate Morrison with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 win over Michele Gao and Hannah O'Brien; along with Ming Comey and Amanda Lee's 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Paige Polowski and Maria Awwa.

The Rams then secured the conference title with a 7-0 shutout victory over East Hampton on May 17. Zhang, Alex Steward, DeAntonis, and Palomeque all won at singles while Neas and Morrison, Allyson Hanover and Mackenzie Beal, and Comey and Lee won their respective doubles matches.

"The girls have worked hard on their fitness, their technique, and match strategy and it all paid off," said Rothman. "It's especially hard to keep a team focused as the season grinds on. Some weeks we had three matches back to back. Then there are the AP exams, college visits, scholarship interviews, the prom-everything pulling them in different directions. The girls are thrilled to win the conference and are excited to play in the state tournament."