Published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on June 10, 2014
SHREWSBURY — Rarely does a first loss end a season, but the Amherst Regional girls tennis team’s quest to go undefeated came to an abrupt end two matches shy of its goal.
The Hurricanes lost 3-2 to Shrewsbury in the MIAA State Division 1 Tournament semifinals at St. John’s High School.
“It was a good year,” said Hurricanes coach C.J. Holt, whose team finished 19-1. “We won Western Mass. We beat Longmeadow 5-0. We were excited about that and clearly we didn’t want to be done today, but we had a great season. This is the icing on the cake, so to speak, being in the state semifinals, playing the best teams around.”
Monday’s decision came down a three-set match at second doubles that was won by Shrewsbury’s Celina Mende and Surbi Godbole 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-1. It was seniors Sarah Knapp and Hannah Lang’s first loss at the position this season.
“They battled back, won the second set. Third set, Shrewsbury got some momentum early on and just road it out,” Holt said. “It was a competitive match.”
Amherst led the first set 4-1, but the Colonials took the following three games to tie it at 4-4. Knapp put a drop shot cross-court to go up a game, but the two sides met at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. After a 2-2 tie, Mende and Godbole breezed through as the Hurricanes fell 7-3.
“It came down to, we didn’t know it at the time, but the first-set tiebreak,” Holt said. “They were up 4-1 in the first set, the other team battled. Anyone can win in a tiebreak. It’s tough to lose 7-6 in the first set.”
The two sides rallied through the first half of the second set until Amherst got ahead 4-3. After trading games, Lang forced a third set on a passing shot down the ally.
“I knew that Nicole (McCann) was down and I really wanted to spilt sets to give her some encouragement,” Lang said. “I think we just got into our zone (in the second set).”
But, after Amherst took the first game of the third set, the Colonials cruised to the 6-1 win.
“They just played really well and, personally, I was starting to get tired,” Lang said. “Mentally, I guess, they were just stronger.”
Losing both doubles matches, as Kailey Tobin and Veronica Suchodolski lost 6-1, 6-1 at first doubles, wasn’t surprising for Holt. He said he expected both spots to be tough competition.
“Eastern Mass., central Mass. doubles have always won (state) individuals and they have really strong doubles teams,” Holt said. “Bigger schools, more depth, more opportunities for kids to play I guess, I don’t know, but their doubles have always been superior. Today it came down to two doubles points.”
Nicole McCann dropped the first match in team play during her Hurricane career when Central Mass. individual champion Jess Perkins won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. McCann finished her four years at Amherst a combined 63-1 at first and second singles in team competition.
“I’m a little dumbfounded,” Holt said. “I knew Nicole would have a very formidable opponent with Jess Perkins and it was Jess’ day today. Jess played really well.”
McCann, the Western Mass. individual champion, will have a rematch with Perkins when the two reunite in the state individual semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. John’s.
“Nicole has a second chance this weekend at individuals and, hopefully, she’ll be able to make some corrections and be able to get a win on Saturday,” Holt said. “I know she would probably trade this weekend’s win for a win today, 100 times over. She wouldn’t think twice about that. She wanted the team title. It means more to her.”
The Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead with two wins in singles. At No. 2 singles, Allison McCann stayed true to character and was, again, the first off the court with a 6-0, 6-0 dismissal of Micaela Stowe. Nya Saunders followed, winning 6-0, 6-2 over Abbie Scott at third singles.
“I had no concerns with No. 2 and 3 (singles) coming in, so I was really focused on the other three spots,” Holt said. “The girls played hard. They played well.”
It was the final match for seniors Sara Martin, Emma Zyskowski, Nicole McCann, Knapp and Lang. It was also Holt’s final walk on the sideline.
Holt announced at the beginning of the season he would not return next year to spend more time with his four kids and coaching their teams.
“It’s just a tough way to end it. I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Holt said. “I haven’t really thought about it. I’ve been focused on the girls. (It’s) my seniors last match, you know. … Their high school careers are over whether they want it to be or not.”