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The Winchester High School girls tennis team (18-4, eighth seed) advanced to the Division 1 state semifinal round after knocking off Boston Latin (14-4), the top seed, in a close Elite 8 matchup, 3-2 at the Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center in Dorchester on June 6.
After this win, the Red & Black were victorious in three straight postseason matches.
But that streak came to an end on Thursday afternoon (June 12) in the state semifinals against Wellesley (23-0, fourth seed) in Lexington. The Raiders were able to defeat the Winchester girls, 4-1. The Bay State Conference school was then scheduled to meet up with Lexington (22-0, sixth seed) in the state championship match at MIT on June 14.
Head Coach Greg Lowder was certainly quite pleased with the upset win over Boston Latin.
“It was a really dramatic win,” Lowder said. “Boston Latin was the top seed for a reason, and is an incredibly strong team, but everybody rose to the occasion to beat them. Our singles players battled as hard as they could, while our doubles teams did the same.
“It was a particularly (pressure-packed) situation for Mia Lock and Esha Bhalla, because they played the last 90 or so minutes knowing that the entire match was on their shoulders,” added Lowder. “But they handled the situation admirably, and that was independent of the (winning) result.”
Daryana Skobeleva defeated Halina Nguyen in first singles, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). Andrea Bilic, however, lost her second singles match to Vanessa Vu, 2-6, 0-6. Sophie Kim then dropped a competitive third singles match to Lillian Nguyen, 6-3, 2-6, 2-6.
The second doubles team of Avery Machemer and Cate Sheehan then evened the match after beating Maya Nguyen and Iris Tian in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
With the match now hanging in the balance, all Winchester eyes were on Lock and Bhalla, and they didn’t disappoint. They were able to persevere through a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 three-set marathon over Boston Latin’s Gisele Ngo and Harkin Lee to send their teammates off to the Division 1 state semifinals.
Heading into the Final Four against Wellesley, Lowder said, “we’re expecting a battle” against the defending state champs.
“We are just hoping to make it as difficult as possible for them to win each and every point,” the Winchester coach added. “We know they’re a great team, and so we’re excited for the chance to play them.”
But at the end of Thursday’s match, Lowder didn’t really change his opinion of the Raiders.
“They have great players at the top of the lineup, and awesome doubles,” he said.
Lock and Bhalla recorded the only Winchester win in first doubles, beating Mia Chung and Sari Hart, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Skobeleva lost a hard-fought three setter against Bella Gopen in first singles, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6. Bilic was shutout by Kimmy Tal in second singles, 0-6, 0-6. Kim fell to Sarah Mackey in third singles, 1-6, 2-6. Machemer and Sheehan dropped a three-setter to Kate Snow and Nicole Tavis in second doubles, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6.
This was the last high school match for Kim and Machemer, and five of their teammates.
“Sophie and Avery were our captains this year, along with (their classmate) Edie Burke,” said Lowder. “Regina Perez, Hanlin Zhang, Michaela Jens and Alessandra Manganaro are our graduating seniors on the roster. They are all just incredible role models that I’ve ever had. They are talented players, but more importantly they are the best people. They are all so kind and caring. I don’t ask them to do anything; they just naturally do it. Our whole team will miss them tremendously.”
Winchester doesn’t really set any goals, according to the coach.
“We are very much focused on creating the best team dynamic we can,” he added. “We want the tightest bond. Making it to the Final Four was great, but had we lost in the Elite 8, then so be it. It’s all good.”
The Winchester girls were awarded for their fine season with five starters making the Middlesex All-League team. There’s Skobeleva, Lock, Bhalla, Machemer and Sheehan all among the elite in the Middlesex League.
“Daryana had the best season of any (player) we’ve ever had,” said Lowder. “She constantly found ways to push herself to new heights. Mia and Esha complemented each other so well, but I think their ability to pick each other up was so crucial to their success. Cate and Avery are two of my favorite people. They’re cousins, who are able to keep matches relatively stress-free, because of that foundation.”
