Girls tennis headed to the state championship

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High Schools girls tennis team is headed to the state finals.

The girls defeated a tough St. John Paul II High School Lions team on Wednesday, 3 – 2, to punch their ticket to the championship.

The boys team is also looking to advance to the finals and are taking on Weston High School Wildcats at 4 pm on Wednesday as well.

Both the Island varsity teams trekked up to the Somerset Berkley Regional High School’s Douglas C. Chapman tennis courts — neutral territory — to battle it out in the semifinals of the MIAA state tournament. 

For the girls, victory came quick. As has been the case for their season, both doubles teams are what assistant coach Eddie Stahl considers the team’s “safe haven,” often winning their matches first to take a load off the shoulders of the singles players. And under the beating sun and without the Island’s familiar breeze on Wednesday, the semifinals were no different.

First doubles Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman battled against Kayla Katziff and Ava Powell, winning their first set 6-4, then coming back from a big deficit to win their second set, 7-5. On second doubles Ella Moran and Clementine Zeender secured their win clean over the Lions’ Emily Desriusstaux and Joey Duhamel, 6-1 and 6-3.

“We come thinking that they are going to guarantee us two points,” said Stahl about the girls’ doubles. “I think the singles players rely on them in their own way.”

For the singles matchups, it was Laina Dubin securing the best of five win for the girls. She battled it out against a familiar opponent she had traded wins with in the past, Lily Walker. Dubin came away with a 6-4, 6-3 victory that clinched it for the Vineyarders. 

Third singles, Tessa Schulz fell to the Lions Grace Walker, 6-1, 6-0, and on second singles, Charlotte Marchand fought hard but fell to the Lions Bella Scioletti, 6-4, 1-6, 3-6

“I thought today everybody played great,” said Stahl. “Second doubles did their usual and first doubles had a strong comeback. Laina dug so hard and took it in two, and Charlotte was great staying confident to finish it out strong.”