Boys’ Tennis

The Valley boys’ tennis team traveled to Old Lyme on April 22 and earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory. Three pairings took it to three sets, including Valley’s No. 3 singles player, Deryck Llivichuzhca, No. 1 doubles pairing of Shep Whitney and Eddie Johnson, and No. 2 doubles team of Willem Fitton and Nic Cartagena. It came down to No. 2 doubles to get the win and they did it. No. 1 doubles lost an amazing match in a third set tiebreaker, losing that tiebreaker 11-9.

Victories also came for No. 1 singles player Tomas Dahl and No. 2 singles player Luis Taverner. Some hard-fought losses were in play as well for No. 4 singles athlete Ryan Poulin and No. 3 doubles duo of Jonah Morrissey and Tsering Samphel.

Girls’ Tennis

On April 22, Valley girls’ tennis hosted Old Lyme and narrowly fell 4-3. There were three third sets and two tie-breakers during this heavyweight fight between the two best teams in the conference. No. 3 singles player, senior Clara Shea, remained undefeated at the end of the day. After losing the first set 3-6, she analyzed her opponent and regrouped, coming back to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-2.

The second doubles team of sophomore Ella Smith and junior Sophia Bonanno also took their opposing team to a third set. After losing the first set 4-6, the girls fought back and changed their tactics, winning the second set 7-5 and the third set 6-3. The No. 3 doubles team, comprised of sophomore Alana Martinez and junior Hannah Faucher, worked super well together to polish off their opponents 6-4, 6-3. No. 4 singles competitor, freshman Riley Russell, took the loss but fought for over three hours. She displayed grit and determination beyond her freshman status.

Then, on April 24, the Warriors played host to Westbrook and won 6-1. Natalie Novak won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles. Shea competed at No. 3 singles and won 6-3, 6-0. Russell (fourth singles) won 6-0, 6-3.

Valley’s doubles teams swept the board. Regan Grow and Hannah Smith won 6-4, 6-2, Ella Smith and Bonnano won 6-4, 6-3, and Martinez and Faucher won 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).

The next day, Valley hosted Portland and won 7-0. Joanna Petrone and Novak at first and second singles, respectively, dominated their courts, each winning in two quick sets (6-0, 6-0). Shea earned a singles win (6-2, 6-0), and Russell won 6-3, 6-4.

The doubles teams all combined for an impressive total of 36 points vs. just one for the Portland team.