The Westbrook girls’ tennis team has relied on veteran leadership and experience to get off to a hot start this spring. As matches continue to pass, the Knights continue to show fight and motivation as they look to make a deep postseason run.

Head Coach Paula Fitzgerald has been with the team since 1990, helping the athletes to flourish along the way. Part of that flourishment comes from the four senior captains this season: Delaney Belcourt (No. 2 singles), Ava Ciarcia (No. 3 singles), Caroline Dias (No. 4 singles), and Adriana Stranieri (No. 1 doubles).

“They each have different personalities and I said, ‘The four of you need to talk with each other, make sure that everyone feels apart of the team’,” said Fitzgerald. “Everyone has someone on the team that they feel comfortable going to one way or the other. I think the four of them have done a great job.”

The Knights compete in the Shoreline Athletic Conference (SLC) and Class S. Last season, the Knights went to the state finals where they fell in a closely contested 4-3 match vs. Old Lyme. This campaign, Westbrook is focused on finishing the job.

“Last year we lost both one and two singles. When you lose the top of your ladder that is big. We also lost one doubles, and two players from our two and three doubles were seniors,” said Fitzgerald. “Every team starts at a different point, and I think that some of the team did a really nice job in the offseason knowing that they had to step up this year. They have stepped up and they have done a great job.”

The Knights are currently 10-1, with wins against the Haddam-Killingworth Cougars (7-0), the Cromwell Panthers (6-1), the East Hampton Noises (7-0), the North Branford Thunderbirds (7-0), the Old Saybrook Rams (7-0), the Coginchaug Blue Devils (4-3), the Portland Highlanders (7-0), the Morgan Huskies (7-0), the Valley Regional Warriors (4-3), and the Portland Highlanders again (7-0). Westbrook’s lone loss came in 0-7 fashion vs. Old Lyme on April 14.

Besides the four captains, the Knights also have several other returning players, including Megan Bache (sophomore, one singles) and Olivia Palumbo (junior, one doubles).

“Giovanna Silva (sophomore, two doubles) played junior varsity (JV), Norah Hayden (junior, three doubles) played for two years, and Gabby Spash (senior, three doubles) is starting for the first time this year,” said Fitzgerald.

In the match vs. Morgan on April 24, the Knights’ victories came from Bache (a 6-0, 6-0 win), Belcourt (6-2, 4-6, 6-3), Ciarcia (6-4, 4-6, 6-2), and Dias (6-1, 6-0). For doubles, Palumbo and Stranieri grabbed a win (6-2, 6-1), Silva and Natalie Palumbo (freshman, two doubles) in 6-0, 6-1 fashion, and Spash and Hayden (3-6, 6-1, 6-3) also won.

“It was a closer 7-0 match than our other 7-0 matches have been. There were three matches that went to three sets, so that easily could have been a different outcome,” said Fitzgerald. “We just happened to win all of the three setters that makes it look like an easy win. Morgan did a nice job on Monday, and they are much improved.”

Following the Morgan match, Westbrook was faced with a strong Valley Regional team, one Fitzgerald knew would challenge her players.

“Valley has a very good team, and they did not lose anyone off last year’s team. That is going to be a huge test for us,” said Fitzgerald. “After that we are going to play teams that we have already played, so it is good to see someone a second time. You never know how teams improve during the season, things of that sort.”

The Knights lived up to that test, as they grinded out a 4-3 victory vs. the Warriors behind the backs of Bache (a 6-1, 6-1 win), Ciarcia (7-5, 6-0), Dias (6-1, 6-0), and Palumbo and Stranieri (4-6, 6-1, 6-2).

As the Knights move through the rest of the regular season portion of the campaign and continue to eye the playoffs, Fitzgerald has high hopes for the combination of athletes she has stepping foot on the court every day. She knows it’s a tough journey in the Shoreline but admires the less experienced players for their work ethic and desire to constantly want to improve their game, something that she knows will serve them well as the spring progresses. Combine that with their yearning to be part of a winning culture like last year’s team was, and they can succeed.

“In that case you are looking at our second and third doubles, which none of those four have played at the varsity level prior to this year. We are working on things and some things we do very well, where other things are not quite there yet,” said Fitzgerald. “I said to them ‘You should not be there yet in your first year. You just have to keep improving each day’, and they do that. They work hard in practices and a couple of them have stayed after to get more work in.”

Fitzgerald is assisted by one assistant coach in Nikki Esposito and one volunteer assistant in Missy Belcourt.

The Knights roster is comprised of Belcourt, Ciarcia, Dias, Myan Nguyen (senior), Spash, Hayden, Olivia Palumbo, Riley Pluck (junior), Bache, Emily Bonner (sophomore), Ana Dias Heringer (sophomore), Alexa Kiss (sophomore), Silva, and Natalie Palumbo.