By Dylan Butler
In the world of Catholic High School girls’ tennis there is St. Francis Prep and St. Anthony’s — and then there’s everyone else.
Never had the two teams’ dominance been more apparent than this yea. Heading into their showdown last Thursday, both squads were 7-0, each having lost just one game in that stretch.
But just as they had the previous three years, the Terriers got the upper hand, defeating St. Anthony’s, 5-2, at the North Shore Tennis Club to increase the team’s winning streak to 57 straight matches. The Friars fell to 7-1. Their only four losses in the last four years? That’s right, to three-time defending city and state champions St. Francis Prep.
“Since my freshman year, its always been us and them; it’s a big rivalry,” said St. Francis Prep senior Alessandra Pedergnana. “If we played well today, we knew the second time around we’re in the comfort zone. In order for them to tie us, they would have to win.”
Pedergnana set the tone for St. Francis Prep, just as she had her first three years on the team, winning her first singles match over Ashley Laurie, 8-1, in pro sets.
“It was the toughest match I’ve had in three years,” said Pedergnana, whose lone league loss came as a freshman. “It’s fun when we play because we’re really good friends.”
St. Francis Prep head coach John Brennan said it’s no coincidence that the Terriers supremacy began when Pedergnana joined the team four years ago.
“Not only is she one of the best players, but she really cares about how the rest of the team plays. She wants the team to win,” Brennan said of Pedergnana, who is being recruited by the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State and the University of Maryland. “It’s very rare to have a player of that caliber to have that kind of team attitude. For a coach, it makes my job so much easier.”
St. Francis Prep easily won the other two singles matches as Ellenora Fetherston and Lisa Vulin each scored 8-0 wins.
“We wanted to come out and do the best we could and show them who’s the best,” Fetherston said. “We knew we wouldn’t have that much trouble in singles and that doubles is our main competition.”
In first doubles, Prep’s Danijela Vulin and Denisa Hluchova defeated Ashley Johansen and Kathryn Skirbe, 8-1 while the third doubles duo of Gina Kang and Kristina Konlewicz clinched the victory with an 8-2 win over Nicole Marandino and Maire-Louise Meng.
But St. Anthony’s victories in second doubles, as Michelle Bradley and Christina Reintramm downed Marianne Romanidis and Kristina Frassinito, 8-3, and fourth doubles, as Liz Nolan and Liz Valdini defeated Katie Rizzo and Chrissie Tafipif, 8-2, gave Friars head coach Rich Roslund a window of hope heading into the two teams’ second showdown, the season-finale at St. Anthony’s Oct. 17, where the Terriers can clinch their fourth straight CHSAA title with another win.
“It takes four wins [in a match] and we have two to turn around at some point,” he said. “There was a lot of back in forth within a lot of the games though and to their credit, they were one point better. We’ll be ready and hopefully improve in that time.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
