Unstoppable girls’ tennis is headed to the finals 

Updated June 10.

Heavy winds and a hot sun were the backdrop of the semifinals match between the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ varsity tennis team and Weston High School on Tuesday. The game gathered a large assemblage of Vineyard families and fans, on the boat, across the Vineyard Sound, and to Falmouth High School, where the first serve started at 3:30 pm — and it didn’t take long for that 45-minute ferry to be worth it, as two Vineyard athletes secured quick wins and put third singles player Josey Johns only a few points away from advancing the Vineyarders to the state finals.

Johns secured the win 7–5, 6–1, and the Island’s girls’ tennis program defeated Weston High School 5–0 in the semifinals of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 3 state tournament. The Vineyarders made it there by defeating Wilmington High School, 4–1, in the quarterfinals last Friday.

The girls earned the semifinal win on Tuesday after second singles Charlotte Marshard took an early 6–1, 6–1 win over Weston’s Kaya Kasaan, followed by second doubles Tessa Schulz and Bella Schilling earning a 6–1, 6–4 win over Weston’s Sajani Brown and Vivienne Kvaratskhelia. 

Johns finished her match third to secure the win for the Vineyarders over Weston’s third singles, Grace Feingold. 

The windy day made for tough playing conditions, but the Vineyarders persevered. Schulz and Schilling, second doubles partners for MVRHS, said while the wind was bad, they were used to it after playing on the Island.

“We’re very confident in playing in the wind,” said Schilling after the match. “Most of our practices involve a lot of wind.” 

“We don’t put everything into our shot when we know that the conditions might affect us as well,” Schulz added. 

Schulz and Schilling’s second doubles match put the Vineyarders up 2–0 early in the semifinals, giving the remaining matches some breathing room. 

Schilling said even if they had lost doubles, she would have been confident in her teammates to secure the wins. 

“I know they won’t crack under the pressure,” she said. “But I’m glad we won. We did our best.” 

“See you at the finals,” Schulz added. 

Shortly after Smith secured the team’s advancement into the finals, the Vineyarders’ Laina Dubin defeated Sophie Sima 6–3, 6–2, and first doubles Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitmen for the Vineyarders took down Weston’s Grace Colsman and Victoria Rosenthal, after three sets.

The Vineyarders played the winner of a match between Dover-Sherborn High School and Swampscott High School on Wednesday, June 10, at 2 pm, after our print deadline. 

If Dover-Sherborn also advances, it will be the second year in a row the Vineyarders face that team in the state championship. Last year, the Vineyarders fell 5–0 in the final matchup, but they beat Dover-Sherborn this season 3–2 during league play.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct Josie Smith to Josey Johns.