Senior Night and Win over Morgan Cap North Branford Girls' Tennis Season

A 'Queen of the Courts' sign bedecked the tennis courts at North Branford High School yesterday in celebration of Senior Night for the girls' tennis team, which concluded their season with a 5-2 victory over Morgan to up its record to 6-12.

Before the match started, Coach Mary Philipp praised the six seniors who were
introduced to cheers, given flowers and gift bags and posed for pictures with
their families. Then it was on to the courts where the Thunderbirds managed to
defeat the Huskies, a team they lost to earlier in the season.

The 6-12 finish was a disappointment “because we didn’t make the state tournament and we’ve made it every other year,” Philipp said. “We were in every match and lost a lot of them 3-4. It came down to a singles match or a split that goes to three sets. We were competitive, but unfortunately, we fell short. The seniors gave 100 percent, played hard and improved over time.”

She also blamed the losing record on the weather and rain cancellations which limited practice time towards the end of the season.

“We had more matches than practices in the last three weeks–the practice time was very slim,” she said.

This year’s star was Ashley Arre, a sophomore, who recorded a 15-3 record, made
the Shoreline team and was ranked No. 3.

“She’s very quick with a desire to play any sport,” Philipp said of Arre, who was named basketball captain for next year’s team.

This year’s co-captains were seniors Meghan Vumbach and Stephanie Albino. Vumbach was the No. 1 singles player. In addition to the co-captains, this year’s seniors are Caitlin Doyle, Ashley Silva, Anna Libby and Rhiannon Cappetta.

“I play number one so it’s been really tough because I play some really good girls, but I’ve been holding my own,” said Vumbach, who said the strategy for singles play “has to do with individual strengths. If you’re fast you can go up to the net and hit hard ones so the other girl can’t return it. If you’re slower you stay back on the line so you’re ready to get any ball. It’s all personal, but for me, I like to run up to the net and hit slices.”

Albino, who played No. 2 or 3 doubles, said "some are easy to beat, but some are a tough match. Doubles has a lot to do with communication with your partner, making sure you know where the other person is. It’s working with each other.”

This year’s top matches were two 7-0 victories over East Hampton and another one over Cromwell.

“We like to slow the ball down, which really messes up the other team," said Philipp. "Our No. 2, Anna Libby, is not as quick as the other No. 2s so she has to slow the ball down. We’re competitive, we return everything, get to every ball and run it down.”