Tolland Girl's Tennis Blasts by E.O. Smith

It didn’t take long for the Tolland girls’ tennis team to close out a home win against neighboring opponent E.O. Smith on Wednesday.

The Eagles jetted out to a 4-0 lead on the afternoon to ensure the victory, and later added two more wins in the last three matchups to batter the Panthers 6-1.

The win over E.O. Smith provided the fourth straight team victory for Tolland, which stretched its record to 9-4 on the year. It started and ended with fantastic singles play, as the Eagles swept all four of those matches.

Last on the courts were Tolland’s Jessi Rhodes and E.O. Smith’s Katie Brvenik, who easily provided the match of the day. Rhodes defeated her fellow No. 2 ranked counterpart 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a marathon that drew a crowd of parents and teammates. The match ended with Rhodes watching a return shot squeak wide on match point of a tiebreaker. For Tolland head coach Kris Coffey, the final set was exciting, but nerve-racking.

“As a coach I’ve never been so nervous in my life even though it was inconsequential to the [overall] match,” Coffey said. “It was hard fought.”

The other three singles matches had long since completed by the time Rhodes and Brvenik were shaking hands at center court. Tolland’s No. 3 player Katie Rhodes finished off Sabiha Madraswalla 6-1, 6-2. Meanwhile, No. 4 Nikki Halladay grabbed a straight set victory over E.O. Smith’s Carolyn Brown, 6-2, 6-2.

For Coffey, the most impressive win might have come from his No. 1 singles player, Sarah Anischik. She also won in two sets, taking out a talented Daphne Myers 6-3, 6-3.

“I told her right after the match that I’ve never been so impressed with her,” Coffey said. “That girl is a very, very high quality player and [Anischik] just played incredible. I’m so proud of her.”

On the doubles side, Tolland’s No. 1 team of Allison Waterfield and Melissa Kenney dropped the only matchup of the day for the Eagles; they were bested by Erica Tremko and Kaylyn Rogers 7-5, 6-2.

The No. 2 Tolland team of Jackie Wolff and Michelle Zimmerman took away a 6-2, 6-3 straight sets win, while No. 3 Rachel Taker and Rebecca Heilman also won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

“This was an awesome win,” Coffey said. “I’m really proud of everyone on our team that pulled through."

With the loss, E.O. Smith drops to 10-4. They will close out the season this afternoon at Manchester. Tolland also finishes up the regular season this afternoon with a trip to Fermi. Both matches are at 3:45 p.m.