Published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on June 13, 2015
SPRINGFIELD — The seniors on the Amherst Regional girls tennis team opened their Hurricane careers with two straight losses to Longmeadow in the Western Massachusetts Division 1 final.
The top-seeded Hurricanes beat the No. 3 Lancers, 4-1, on Friday at Western New England University to send them out with two consecutive sectional titles over their longtime rivals.
“This is where we played the finals when we were freshmen and we lost, so it was nice to go full circle,” senior Veronica Suchodolski said.
It was the seventh straight Longmeadow-Amherst final and the result set up another rematch. The Hurricanes (18-2) advanced to the state semifinals and will play Central Mass. winner Shrewsbury Monday at 3:30 p.m., back at Western New England.
The Colonials (17-2) won 3-2 a year ago to hand Amherst its only loss of the 2014 season. Longmeadow ended its season at 12-4.
“It’s just a fun rivalry (with Longmeadow),” said Amherst co-coach Gloria McCann, who was working solo with C.J. Holt out of town. “Both strong tennis towns over the years. It’s been close, it’s nice when it works out in your favor.”
Friday’s match was also the sixth straight win over Longmeadow and was clinched by Suchodolski and Kailey Tobin at first doubles with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cali Grincavitch and Sarah Hachadourian.
Picking up a victory in their final match against a Western Mass. opponent completed a season turnaround and made up for a loss in the individual finals.
“I think we felt a lot of pressure at the beginning of the season and that was a little scary,” Suchodolski said. “Once that sort of pushed off, we were really able to hone our game and be the players that we wanted to be at the beginning of the season.”
The seniors had beaten the same pair from Longmeadow twice this season, which prepped both sides for the third meeting. A combination of deep shots and net winners lead the Hurricanes through.
“We know they are amazing competition and we have to bring our A-game whenever we are playing them,” Tobin said. “We knew their strengths and to put the ball where it might of been a little bit more challenging for them. I think they might have been thinking the same thing. It was kind of like a give and take.”
In the first set, they had to shake some nerves despite reaching the finals every year of their careers. After leading 4-1, the Hurricanes dropped two games but rallied for two straight and the set.
“I was shaking a little bit, so definitely winning the first set helped calm us down,” Tobin said.
Suchodolski added, “After we won the first set, I was like, ‘We’re fine. We can do it.’ We’d beaten them before, but (nerves) are something you can’t really control.”
Kim Piontkowski and Julia O’Connell grabbed Amherst’s second point, each playing in their first sectional final as seniors. The duo beat Jen Brayton and Meghan Swanson 6-3, 6-3, as Piontkowski hit a crosscourt volley to lock up the match.
“That felt really good,” she said. “I was kind of hoping there would be a double fault, but there wasn’t so I just wanted to close it.”
The two entered the season with little match experience, but have been a ladder spot the Hurricanes could depend on all season, which they proved with Friday’s win.
“They’d both played a lot at practice over the last few years, but it’s different playing in matches,” McCann said. “It’s something that they are going to remember. They won’t realize it, but it is something they will remember for a long time.”
First off the courts, but in one of her longer matches this season, was junior Allison McCann. She knocked off Suzanne Elfman 6-0, 6-1 in roughly an hour.
“It was a good match for her,” said Gloria McCann, Allison’s mother. “They both hit really well today. Lots of long rallies, great points.”
Margaret O’Connell battled through long points at third singles to win 6-2, 6-3 over Jen Barnhart for Amherst’s fourth point in the last match off the courts.
Sophomore Nya Saunders struggled through her second consecutive postseason match with a wrist injury, which Gloria McCann said was a factor in her 6-3, 6-0 loss to Noelle Ehronberg. Saunders took a medical timeout in the second set to have it looked at by the trainer.
“That type of injury can be kind of nagging,” Gloria McCann said. “You think it’s okay and then hit some hard shots. It was definitely a factor for her.”
Suchodolski also took a medical timeout in the first set, as the heat and nerves made her nauseous briefly. Extra water and a few minutes in the shade settled her stomach and allowed her and Tobin to send Amherst back to the state semifinals.
“I’m excited for the kids,” Gloria McCann said. “They are so happy. I’m happy, especially for the seniors. It’s very nice.”