GREAT BARRINGTON — Going on the road to face an undefeated No. 2-seeded Monument Mountain team is already a daunting task for No. 7-seeded Greenfield.
Unfortunately for the Green Wave, absences due to graduation forced them to reshuffle their lineup and forfeit the No. 3 singles match, leading to a 5-0 Monument win Saturday’s Western Massachusetts Division III Tennis Tournament quarterfinals.
“It did make it a little harder,” Greenfield coach Ben Johnson said of starting the match down 1-0. “I think the girls came in with a positive attitude, came ready to play tough and see what we could do.”
Georgia Fowler’s absence forced the team’s usual No. 3 singles player, Leah Busco, to move to No. 1 doubles with Alyssa Garvin. The Green Wave could not make the changes work, however, as Monument won all four matches in straight sets.
Only Liliya Georgitsa’s match at No. 2 singles against Hailey Higgins was ever in doubt.
Higgins started quickly, winning the first few games, before Georgitsa rallied and tied the match at 5-5. With the first set in doubt, Higgins switched her strategy to a more defensive style. The adjustment worked. Higgins won the next two games and swept the second set, winning the match, 7-5, 6-0.
“At first I was hitting a lot of winners, but I started to miss them,” Higgins said. “The sun was in my eyes when I was serving on that side, so I was missing those games. She was missing my first serves, but I couldn’t get that one in on the opposite side. So I started to hit my second serve down the middle until she hit a ball that I could put away.”
Jenna Silk dropped her match at No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-0 to Gabi DeFelice. Both of the Green Waves’ doubles teams lost in straight sets as well.
Despite the sour end to the season, Johnson said he’s optimistic on the future of the program.
“It’s progress and building,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of returning players. Our top three players are coming back, so hopefully that’s something to build on for next year.”
Monument’s win gives the Spartans two more victories than last year. Now they hope to advance to the WMass final after losing to Belchertown in the semis last season. First-year coach Hannah White is at the helm of the Spartans’ improvement.
White brings collegiate experience after playing tennis at Colby-Sawyer College and her players have taken to her coaching.
“Hannah’s great,” Higgins said. “She knows a lot about tennis, because she played in college. She helps a lot when we’re having switch-overs. She gives us tips on how to start winning or how to keep the pace up. Its been really great having her as a coach.”
White’s chemistry with her players is apparent as she makes her rounds during switch-overs in between games. When Higgins’ lead was slipping away, a quick pep-talk from her coach put her back on track. Although the team credits White with helping it improve, the former Charger said having skilled players makes her job a lot easier.
“I got really lucky with a really good group of girls,” she said. “I don’t necessary think it was just my coaching. I think they would’ve been really successful with almost anyone. They all try hard and play really, really well and they work until the very last point.
“For me its been great. I’ve really enjoyed it, because it’s much easier to coach a team that is positive and has a really good season, than it is to try and keep people’s morale’s up if you’re having a rough season.”