Cranston West’s girls tennis team is unbeaten early in the season.
They have started the season 4-0 and have won in impressive fashion, losing only two matches, and winning 26. In each tennis contest, there are seven matches, four singles, and three doubles. They have only lost two of these all year.
Falcons coach, Jim Lucas, feels good about where the team is headed. “The kids are working hard in practice and are bringing the things we are practicing into the match, which is wonderful,” he said.
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Tressa Cannata is their number one singles player, a senior and co-captain. “She has gotten stronger every year and is having a great season thus far,” Lucas said.
Their number three singles is Rebecca Scialabba, and she has not lost yet this season. The coach said her biggest strength is her mind and she’s always thinking on the court.
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One of the girls that has shown the most improvement is number four singles player, co-captain, Danielle Leonardo. “She has improved greatly over the years and is a very hard worker,” the coach said.
Over the summer, Leonardo and Cannata held captains’ practices, which Lucas feels has helped fuel the fast start.
“They have shown great leadership and the captains’ practices they held all summer has fed into them having such a strong start that they’ve had,” he said.
Erin Rabbitt and Alexander Villari have formed a great duo for the Falcons. They both took tennis lessons over the summer. “Every time out they are getting stronger and improving their strategy,” Lucas said.
Smithfield won the state title last year and returns most of their team this year. The coach expects they will be a championship contender again this season. Last year, West lost both matches against them. “We have to work to use a little more strategy and be aggressive at the right times to be competitive with Smithfield,” Lucas said.
He spoke volumes about his assistant, Nancy Hersey, and the job she’s done with the junior varsity team. The coach feels the strength of that program has been instrumental in the improvement in the varsity program.
West has come up just short of the finals and a championship in recent years. “In order to take the next step and reach the championship, we have to pick the opportunities to be aggressive and trust our skills,” Lucas said.
