Girls singles players sophomore Mia Milicevic and team captain senior Alicia Barnett clinched county championships in girls singles tennis on Thursday, May 11 in the Singles 3 and Singles 4 positions, respectively. Milicevic and Barnett both defeated Wootton freshmen with the same scoreline of 6-3, 6-1, with Milicevic facing Veronica Chunikhin and Barnett facing Katherine Yao.
Led by the performances of Milicevic and Barnett, the team finished second overall in the county. The county tournament functions as seven individual tournaments – one tournament for each of the seven positions on a tennis team (Singles 1-4 and Doubles 1-3). Awarded one point each for a win at the Round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal and final, the school with the most points in aggregate across all seven tournaments wins the county championships.
With 18 points, the team narrowly lost the overall county championship to Whitman, who garnered a total of 21 points.
For the incoming captain Milicevic, the win over Chunikhin represented a comeback as she had lost to Chunikhin earlier in the regular season, while the team lost overall to Churchill 5-2.
“The most important thing for me in that match was to stay light on my feet and calm in my head, which was a problem for me when I lost to Veronica earlier in the season … I’m glad I could represent my team and my school well,” Milicevic said.
Barnett, who has captained the team since the 2021 season, found the championship in her final season is even more meaningful.
“This was special, as it’s my last year. It doesn’t compare to the team bonding and energy throughout the season, but it definitely was a personal win my family and I will cherish,” Barnett said.
In addition to Milicevic and Barnett, two of the team’s doubles pairings also reached the county final: Doubles 2 sophomore Angela Lynch and senior Irene Tarpy, and Doubles 3 freshmen Elizabeth Martin and Alyssa Thoms. Lynch and Tarpy lost in a close three-set match to Whitman pair Lauren Heberlee and Meredith Lee, taking an opening set 7-5 lead before losing the next two sets 6-2, 6-3. Martin and Thoms lost with an even closer scoreline, losing 7-5, 6-7(2), 5-7.
“The county tournament was so fun to be a part of and I appreciate all the support from the team … I think in the final we needed to cover the alleys, stay consistent, and not lose hope,” Thoms said.
Despite the losses, the team has many positive takeaways from the season. The team overall improved from their 2022 season finish, where they finished fifth overall behind Churchill, Poolesville, Wootton and Whitman.
The team will also face challenges in the gaps left behind by departing seniors with Alison Razafimandimby (Singles 2), Barnett and Tarpy all departing. The team will be led through these challenges with their new captains Milicevic and Martin.