Win Over Cedar Creek Snaps 4-Match Losing Streak for Absegami Tennis Team

When Golda-Mier Valmaria and Olivia Conover walked off the court victorious on Wednesday, Sept. 28, Absegami High School tennis coach Amy Landgraf gave a sigh of relief.

The Braves’ second doubles team not only clinched a team victory, it also lifted any tension that the remaining Braves on the courts may have felt.

The win by Valmaria and Conover was the third point during a 4-1 victory over visiting Cedar Creek. At the time of their 6-3, 6-4 win over McKenzie Goddard and Lindsey Grams, two singles matches were going to third sets.

"Not just me, but it takes the pressure off the other two now that they know it's not all on them," Landgraf said. "They don't think it's all on my shoulders."

Absegami's win snapped a four-match losing streak. The Braves' last win came in the opening match of the season over Egg Harbor Township.

"We have had some difficult matches to begin with, and it's never good to win one and then lose four," Landgraf said. "This win was very important and it wasn't easy. We had two matches go three sets and we almost had three go three sets."

Absegami's Melissa Kelly and Blair Cournoyer won their first doubles match over Jessica Danks and Christina Pirri, 6-2, 6-2. Although two singles matches went to three sets, Absegami freshman Alyssa Brady cruised to a straight sets victory at second singles.

Brady dropped just one game—that game in the first set—in a win over Mikila Stefanski.

"I didn't mess up a lot," Brady said. "I didn't hit the net and I worked on hitting the angles."

Sophomore Laura Nastasi used something she read in Sports Illustrated to get through her three-set match.

Less than a week ago, Nastasi put at the words, 'Next point' on her racket. She read that a college basketball player did the same thing with his sneakers as inspiration. After dropping the first set, it's what she turned to in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 win.

"I was getting up and I kept telling myself I can do it," Nastasi said. "I tried a new thing. I put next point on my racket and every time I was getting down I knew I could do it. And my coaches were telling me I could do it and my teammates were supporting me."

"After dropping the first set she was a little frustrated, and it's understandable," Landgraf said. "She turned it around and decided not to let that get the best of her and that's not easy to do, to turn that frustration around and come back. Once she got into the rhythm of it, she started not to make unforced errors. She really turned it around and took off."

Braves’ first singles player Brianna Nguyen lost the first set, 6-3, to Linsey Gabris, but won the second set, 6-4, to force a third. Gabris bounced back for a 6-4 win for the Pirates' only point.