16 Rutland Herald Spring Sports Guide 2018
TENNIS PREVIEWS
MSJ GIRLS
Something , old , nothing borrowed , something new .
That ’ s a pretty bad twist on an old saying but it describes coach Gary Thompson ’ s Mount St . Joseph girls tennis team .
The old ? The Mounties have four returning players . They were thinking they might have to borrow some players from schools that don ’ t offer tennis teams , but they did not have to do that as the Mounties have good numbers from within the school . Ten players are on the roster . And something new ? Six players are brand-new to the sport , learning the game from the ground up .
The four returning players are Sophia Duffy ,
Carley Ruby , Kristen Elliott and Lizzy Wright . Wright will move into the No . 1 singles spot . The new players , of course , have a big learning curve , but they are picking things up quickly . “ They are actually doing very well with their footwork and timing . But they don ’ t know tennis yet ,” Thompson said .
The newcomers include are Rory Carrara , Sarah-Gabriella Casimir , Emelia Tooley , Pearl Bellomo and Miracle Wood .
This is Wright ’ s first time at No ., 1 so she ’ ll have some stiff competition from the other team ’ s big guns , but Thompson said she is working hard and very serious about tennis , to the point where she would like to play in college .
OTTER VALLEY GIRLS
The Otters have a unique arrangement for their home matches . Due to the small number of courts , they must play the match at two venues so play is going on simultaneously at Estabrook Park in Brandon and the Pittsford Rec area .
“ We have one captain in Brandon and the other captain in Pittsford ,” said captain Brenna Mc- Cullough . “ We text the other or the coach when the match is over . It ’ s a pretty good system .”
It might not sound like the ideal setup , but there is some benefit to not having courts at the high school . The car pooling it necessitates fosters chemistry , bringing he team closer together .
That begins even before the season starts . The Otters hold practices in Rutland at Grand Slam Tennis , an indoor facility .
Captain Brittany Danforth lives in Brandon so she drives her Brandon teammates to and from
Grand Slam . McCullough lives in Pittsford and provides the same role for the Pittsford team members .
“ We are already close which is good . We are more team oriented ,” McCullough said .
McCullough did not have a lot of tennis experience before arriving at Otter Valley .
“ I went to a one-day tennis camp when I was
12 ,” she said . Now , she is a junior in her third year of varsity . Danforth is in her fourth year of varsity tennis . When she was a freshman she was on the Nordic team and those teammates talked her into giving tennis a whirl . McCullough would love to play the sport in college . The one deficiency of this team is a lack of numbers . Having eight , they are a player away from not having to forfeit one of the matches .
Danforth and McCullough have a lot of responsibility as captains especially because of the courts being so spread out .
The other returners are Meghan Channey and Maddie Fuller .
Rounding out the squad are Heather Wood , Maddie Morgan , Evelyn Bart and Anoushka Pschorr .
RUTLAND GIRLS
Tennis is alive and well in Raider Land . Veteran coach Mary Haskell can ’ t recall having this many girls in the program . There are 30 players between the JV and varsity levels .
“ There are a lot of players with talent and a lot of potential ,” Haskell said .
There will be some senior leadership and one of those seniors is a windfall . Sam Shinn played her freshman year at Rutland but then prepped at Holderness School in New Hampshire . She is back and has been looking strong in preseason .
Izzy Gulick played doubles last year but is looking for an opportunity in the singles lineup .
Sakshi Dholakia did play singles last year and is trying to break into the order again .
Gabby Chadwick is another of those seniors who was a doubles player last season and hoping to crack the singles lineup .
Other competition for spots in the rotation comes from Brooke Sanford and Shannon Watelet .
Sophomore Madison Santiago is making an impression .
“ She is super enthusiastic and has been working hard ,” Haskell said . Maddie Bourassa is also in contention for a spot . “ There are only five singles spots and there are a lot of girls ,” Haskell said . And there are only nine spots available each match and , unlike other sports , there is no substituting during the event . There is so much depth on this team that it is likely players will still be contending for those slots well into the season . That should keep practices sharp and the players focused .
“ The girls are so enthusiastic . Nothing is guaranteed right now . It ’ s great motivation ,” she said .
FUN FACT : The Rutland girls were in the finals four out of five years from 1977 through 1981 .
RUTLAND BOYS
The Raiders had quite a run last year , winning 10 consecutive matches after dropping the opener at St . Johnsbury . They could make some noise again this year . And you don ’ t have to go back to 1986 or anywhere else in the history book to find glitz and glamour in the program . There is plenty of that in the current edition of Raider tennis .
No . 1 singles player Andres Aguilar has only lost one match in two years and coach Rob Purdy said of the junior “ he might be the best player Rutland has ever had .”
Connor Solimano and Austin Roussel figure to be in the No . 2 and No . 3 singles spots , respectively , although Purdy said there are some younger players on this squad of 23 who could push them .
Keegan Bliss , another member of the Rutland state championship basketballteam , will likely be in the doubles rotation where his partner could be Noah Tyson .
Tyson is out for tennis for the first time , but he is not a complete surprise to Purdy . The Rutland coach observed him hitting balls on the Castleton University tennis courts with his mother Deanna when he was younger . “ He ’ s pretty good ,” Purdy said . Freshmen Augie Louras and Brady Kenosh showed a wealth of potential in the preseason .
Seniors Zach Lane and Noah Hamilton and junior Jensen Kelly are also in the mix with two singles spots and both doubles teams stillopen .