Under Direction of New Coach Chiricosta, ALHS Girls Tennis Ready to Impact

For years, when it came to Avon Lake girls tennis, the name “Chiricosta” was synonymous with it.

First Christine, and then her sister Nikki dominated the courts.

Now one of those two standouts, Christine Chiricosta, is back on the courts hoping to put the Shoregals among the elite of the SWC, as coach of the Shoregals.

"It's awesome to be back; it’s one of my best memories from high school with the tennis team at Avon Lake," Chiricosta, a , said. "And to be back, in a different role as a coach, it’s interesting to see the work that goes into it. Because as a player, you don't realize all the little things that are behind the scenes, but now that I am coaching I have had both sets of experiences.”

Chiricosta inherited an inexperienced team with just two returning varsity players of the 20 players, so it is a building year for the future. Despite those odds, the Shoregals stand at 3-1 in the SWC and 5-5 overall.

"We are young but what I like most is our effort level, and our work ethic at practice and matches," Chiricosta said. "The girls are extremely coachable, and they are very goal oriented and it definitely shows because there has been a huge improvement over the season from tryouts."

The Shoregals are led by a talented No. 1 singles player who Chiricosta believes has a good shot at advancing far into the second season, Erin Hrivnak. Just a sophomore, Hrivnak is one of the two returners from last year.

"She made it to districts last year, and so far her only losses are to Westlake and Avon so she is doing very well this year," Chiricosta said. "She could very well make it down to states if she keeps improving her game because she is mentally tough."

At No. 2 singles, Becky Betero is up from JV last year. Playing against a number of tough No. 2 players, she is having a good year. The No. 3 player for the Shoregals is Kaitlyn Bove, another player up from JV, who Chiricosta originally had playing doubles. She, like Betero, has performed well.

The first doubles team for the Shoregals is junior Jamie Carpenter and senior Amanda Harley.

"They have definitely pulled together and are a strong combination," Chiricosta said. " They play from behind in a number of matches and have been a key point for our team this season."

Avon Lake's second doubles team hasn't played as well as Chiricosta would like, but only because she teamed them up later in the season. Those two, freshman Brianna Makadia and senior Mary Kate Maloney, do balance each other out well and as of late they have won some key matches for the team.

As for her thoughts on how the season has progressed considering the youth of the Shoregal roster, Chiricosta is pleased.

"We are doing well, I knew in practice with the workouts, if they continued to do so we could have a successful season," Chiricosta said. "But so many of them have come up from JV, you don't know what to expect when they get up there, but they have made the most of what they have."

Chiricosta, who graduated from Bowling Green State University this past spring, says the goals the remainder of the year of simple.

"We would like to be competitive in the SWC, which is next weekend," Chiricosta said. "We think we can finish in the top two, but at the end of the day every ones eyes are set on the conference championship."