After four consecutive losing seasons, Beaver’s girls’ varsity tennis team had a 2012 season to remember. A 12-1 overall record was capped by a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class B Championship.
On Saturday, May 26, the girls traveled to Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, CT for the NEPSAC tournament. They entered the day as the number one seed and cruised to a 6-3 victory over Ethel Walker School in the semi-finals. Beaver went up against a strong number two seed from Miss Porter’s School in the finals. In a match that lasted almost four hours, Beaver found itself trailing Miss Porter’s for much of the afternoon. In the end, the championship all came down to a tie-breaker in the final match. Beaver’s Mandy Gordon ’14 outlasted her opponent to win the tie-breaker 10-8 and seal the 5-4 victory for the team.
The season was marked by amazing accomplishments by all players throughout the season:
- Gabby Marks ’15 went undefeated at number one singles and never lost a set the entire season. In fact, she only lost 15 games total, and was decisively chosen as the Eastern Independent League (EIL) Player of the Year.
- Senior co-captain, Sarah Jane Devins* played her best season of tennis at number two singles and finished the season with four decisive match wins in both singles and doubles at the New England Championships.
- Senior co-captain Lily Brooks* had a remarkable season at number one doubles, going 8-1 in the regular season. Her leadership and calm, steady, quiet determination were what helped this team come together for this extraordinary season.
- Electra Walker ’15 was the other half of our amazing number one doubles team this season. But her greatest moment was winning her match at number three singles in the finals of the New England Championships. She had lost the first set, and despite being exhausted, came back to win in a very gutsy match against a senior from Miss Porter’s.
- Catherine Wei ’15, the last of our freshman phenoms, was always at the ready and competed well at number three singles when given the chance. In fact, she was undefeated through the regular season and never lost a set until she was defeated in a third set tiebreaker at the EIL Tournament.
- Mandy Gordon ’14 never even flinched under the pressure of having the entire finals match rest on her shoulders at New England’s. Coach Jon Butler said, “I am not sure anybody else could have handled this pressure the way Mandy did in such a momentous situation.”
The team will be graduating two AMAZING leaders and players this season, but hopes that this championship will mark the beginning of a new era in girls tennis at Beaver!
* Both captains earned honorable mention all-league honors for their incredible efforts and leadership this season.