Sidwell Friends girls tennis wins fourth straight ISL tennis title – The Washington Post
The routine didn’t change Thursday and neither did the results. The Quakers rolled to their 56th straight victory, sweeping the Panthers, 7-0, to capture a fourth straight ISL title to cap off a 14-0 season. The second-ranked tennis team in the country, according to the website Universal Tennis, didn’t drop a single team point in postseason play.
“The team is definitely the most cohesive and unified it’s ever been,” said senior Sarah Keating, who has played on Sidwell’s team since her freshman year. “We work really together and we’re supportive when we’re playing, so that’s what’s made it really special this year.”
Heading into the playoffs, the Quakers knew they were the team with the “target on their back” as the three-time defending champions. West urged his team to avoid becoming complacent despite dominating each opponent they faced in the regular season.
“It’s one thing to be talented and to be favored,” West said. “But matches aren’t won on paper, you have to come out on the court and you have to execute and you have to be mentally tough and have that grit.”
With one final volley winner from Keating, West’s worries were eased. After Molly Evans, Sara Abouzeid and Natalie McIntosh each won their singles matches in dominant fashion, Keating and teammate Alana Templeman clinched the team victory with a 10-2 win at the second doubles position.
Then, all the Quakers had to do was wait. Senior Clara Zou was the last member of the team to finish up from the top singles spot, and did so with a gritty 10-7 win over Holton-Arms senior Charlotte Klein, who tested Zou early. The rest of the team sat on a hill next to the top court and watched the last shot of the match bounce wide before sprinting onto the court to embrace their senior captain.
“We all know how to push each other to get better,” Zou said. “Our goal wasn’t just to win, it was to play our best, and we all just wanted to come out and show them how good we are.”
