Kingswood Oxford's Varsity Girls’ Tennis team won three different titles -- Founders League, Coe de Villafranca, and the NEPSAC B division -- during a remarkable eight-day run in May 2014, putting an exclamation point on an outstanding 12-1 season.
The Wyverns won New Englands on a picture-perfect May 18, beating Berkshire, 6-3, a day after prevailing over Brooks, 5-0, in the semifinals.
KO won at #1 singles (Melissa Lord ’15), #1 doubles (Lord and Olivia Shea ’16), and #4 singles (Shea), but the highlights of the match were a dominant win at #2 doubles by Allie Perron ’16 and Morgan Risinger ‘16 (capping their undefeated season at that spot) and two big wins by Nicole Galik ‘17 (at #5 singles and at #3 doubles with Faith Pease ‘17).
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"It was a great team win over a talented Berkshire squad," said KO Head Coach Ron Garcia.
Just four days earlier, KO clinched the Founders League title with a 6-3 victory over Hotchkiss -- its 11th straight win. The Wyverns were 7-1 in the league for the season, with Taft, Hotchkiss, and Westminster tying for second place with 5-2 records.
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And on May 10, KO won the 10-team Coe de Villafranca Tournament for the fifth time in six years and by the largest margin in school history – 25 points ahead of Andover and Hotchkiss, who finished second and third, respectively. "It was a very dominant and inspiring performance," said Garcia.
At #1 singles, Lord won all five of her matches, beating Kent in the finals; at #2 singles, Risinger was also unbeaten. Shea and Perron won four of their five matches in the #1 doubles bracket, but lost to Andover in the semifinals.
KO’s MVP award for Spring 2014 was shared by Lord, Risinger, Perron, and Shea. For the season, Lord was undefeated at #1 singles and doubles; Risinger and Perron were undefeated at #2 doubles and won over 85% of their matches rotating at #2 and #3 singles; and Shea was undefeated at #4 singles and #1 doubles.
Galik – a vital contributor to the New England title – won the Most Improved Player award, and Pease was very strong at #6 singles and #3 doubles.
"The most exciting thing about this season is that we are only going to get better,” said Assistant Coach Chris Grace. “These players are young and very motivated to improve.”
