LEE – The No. 2 Lenox girls tennis team came into Sunday afternoon’s Class C Western Massachusetts championship match against No. 4 Lee with one thing on its mind: revenge.
The Millionaires fell to the Wildcats in this same match a season ago, so they came in with some extra motivation to get back for last year’s loss. Behind stellar play in both doubles matchups, Lenox got its revenge on Lee with a 4-1 victory, crowning them as best in the west for Class C.
“We didn’t come in for sure thinking that we would win, but we certainly hoped that we would,” Millionaires head coach Monica Herman said. “It was great to come back against the same team in the same location and beat them this year.”
In the semifinal round, Lee pulled off a win over No. 1 Mount Greylock. The Mounties were the only team Lenox had lost to all season, and the Millionaires were certainly pleased to match up with the Wildcats given their 2-0 record against them coming into the final.
“They (Lee) have improved a lot, as have we, during the season,” Herman said. “They beat out Greylock, who was a very tough competitor for us this year.”
Throughout Lenox’s season, the Millionaires have relied on the consistently strong play of their two doubles tandems. Nicole Illingworth and Katie Shea have only lost one match throughout the year in first doubles, and Charlie Keater and Gali Gomes have been playing their best tennis as a duo over the last several weeks.
Both pairs were once again dominant on Sunday.
“That was really important, our doubles,” Herman said, nodding to their terrific performances. “Our first doubles went to the individual doubles tournament semifinals, they have only lost once. Our second doubles, I’m not sure they’ve lost at all during the second half of the season. Our doubles pairings are really good across the board.”
Illingworth and Shea defeated Annie Herman and Shae Kelly of Lee in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, while Keater and Gomes beat Lee’s Maddie Haywood and Sophia Puntin, 6-3, 6-2.
Although Lenox has now been to consecutive Western Mass. finals, the Millionaires are still a very young team. Their varsity roster consists of 10 players, with five of them in middle school. Despite the overall youth of the team, Lenox has been one of the best teams in the area.
“Building off and developing the middle schoolers so that they can be here year after year is what’s really helped,” Herman said. “We have a bunch of middle schoolers that are ready to step in next year, and I think having those stronger, younger players has benefited us (this year).”
In first singles, Lenox’s Rory Lenehan delivered a dramatic victory over Anna Martin of Lee. Lenehan was sharp in the opening set, taking it 6-1 over Martin. But in the second set, Martin raced out to an early lead, and was eventually ahead in the set 6-5. Lenehan stormed back, winning the next game to force a tiebreak.
Lenehan then turned on her A-game in that tiebreak, as she found herself quickly ahead 4-1 before the two split the next six points, leading Lenehan, who is one of those aforementioned middle schoolers, to a 7-4 win – and a 6-1, 7-6 win overall.
“She is obviously a really strong player, but she’s mentally very tough this year,” Herman said. “Last year as a seventh grader, she was physically tough but not as mentally tough. She’s really snapped into gear with the mental aspect, and never gives up as a result. For first singles, to have as good of a record as she does, having a 75-percent win rate, is really good.”
Rihana Patel was the first one off the court on Sunday, as she put Lenox on the board first with a 6-0, 6-0 victory in second singles over Amy Desiata.
Third singles is where Lee picked up its lone match of the day, and in thrilling fashion. Sophie Herman and Georgia Raser went three sets, with Herman outlasting Raser, 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 for a come-from-behind victory.
Sunday was the third time Lee and Lenox met this year, and each time the score was 4-1 in Lenox’s favor.
With Lenox (16-1) having as small a roster as it does, it allows for the Millionaires to connect and bond on a deeper level than most other teams. Having that family-like environment amongst the group, Lenox looks to use that to its advantage in the upcoming state tournament – one they are likely to receive a high seed in.
“We have a really cohesive team, a really close team, and everyone has bonded very well,” Herman said. “We don’t have a particularly big team, so I think having a smaller team helps everyone kind of support each other and help each other through the state tournament.”
As for Lee (10-8), the Wildcats have also qualified for the state tournament. They will await their opponent and look to advance far into the postseason like they did a season ago. Before Sunday’s loss, Lee had won five consecutive matches, playing its best tennis of the year at the right time.
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