The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) girls varsity tennis team dominated Monomoy High School of Harwich 5-0 in the Division 3 South Sectional semifinal, Thursday in the final match of the season at the Ned Fennessy Courts in Oak Bluffs. Matches will be played at neutral sites for the remainder of the tournament.
The Vineyarders, the top seed in the South and two-time defending Division 3 State champions, improved to 18-1, while the fourth-seeded Sharks finished the season at 15-4.
MV will face seventh-seeded Ursuline Academy of Dedham in the Division 3 South championship match at 2:30 pm on Saturday, June 10, at Medway High School. The Bears entered the tournament with a 13-4 record.
As has been the pattern all season, save for one loss to Division 1 Sharon High School and challenging matches against D-2 Foxboro, the Vineyard girls rarely allowed an opponent to win more than two or three games per set, with double-bagel wins commonplace. The team is rock-solid from first singles straight through to second doubles.
“We are super-excited to be going into the South finals, and today was a nice challenge to have a new team to play,” Vineyard co-Head Coach Liz Roberts said. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
“I think they were a good team; it was a good warm-up for Saturday,” co-Head Coach Nina Bramhall said. “Saturday is going to be a big step up. We’ll have a serious practice tomorrow.”
Kat Roberts had a competitive match at first singles, yet pulled out the win against Carly Donovan, 6-2, 6-0. “She’s a really good player; there were a lot of competitive points, it’s good to get some competition,” Kat said.
Kelly Klaren topped Daila Pen, 6-1, 6-0, at second singles. “She moved around the court really well, and she was a really good player, one of the better ones, I think, of this season. It was a good match,” Kelly said.
Hannah Rabasca won at third singles against Lindsay McDonald, 6-0, 6-0. “It wasn’t as windy as last time, so that was easier to deal with,” Hannah said. “It was kind of like playing against myself, because I just kept making errors and I was trying to correct them the entire time, and towards the end I was picking up my game, and I just kept it.”
At first doubles, Victoria Scott and Lizzie Williamson beat Caty Street and Lauren Handel, 6-0, 6-1. “The competition is definitely getting more challenging as we go along,” Lizzie said. “I think our level of play together, combined with our consistency and strength, outdid it today.”
The Pogue sisters, Paige and Molly, defeated Julia Smith and Hannah Marty at second doubles, 6-3, 6-2. Julia is an eighth grader. “It was a good match,” Paige said. “It was a little harder because this is our semifinal, but hopefully, Saturday will go well. We’ll see what happens.”
“It just shows the depth of our team,” athletic director Mark McCarthy told The Times after the win.
