Girls tennis team named state finalists after hard-fought match
Jun 18, 2022
The Wareham girls tennis team poses for photos with their finalists’ medals after Saturday’s state final championship match. Photos by: Alexandra Weliever
Coach Geoff Swett places finalist medals on his players.
A crowd of Wareham supporters keeps close watch of the girls tennis team.
Sophomore Brooklyn Bindas takes a water break between games.
Two Wareham players pose for a photo while biting their medals.
Sophomore Brooklyn Bindas smiles at a friend in the crowd during her No. 1 singles match.
The Wareham girls tennis team didn’t make it easy for the Hamilton-Wenham Generals to squeak away with the state championship win on Saturday.
Two matches went to tie-breaker rounds as the Wareham Vikings didn’t let up across their singles and doubles matchups. They were playing for the Division 4 state finals on the outside courts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In the end, the No. 1 seed Hamilton-Wenham team walked away with a 4-1 win, marking the Wareham team’s first loss of the season.
“It was an awesome season,” Coach Geoff Swett said after the match. He praised his team for their intelligence and maturity, saying they take losses in stride.
Sophomore Brooklyn Bindas scored Wareham’s sole match victory, winning No. 1 singles 6-0, 6-1 in a speedy match. Her laser-like focus kept her in the zone, though between points she often took a second to grin at friends in the crowd.
The Vikings were battling not just the Hamilton-Wenham Generals, but also the strong wind gusts that swept across the courts. Sudden bursts of wind sent high lobs even higher and kept some returns from making it over the net.
No. 3 singles player, Giuliana L’Homme, and No. 1 doubles players, Olivia Powers and Mackenzie Brodley, all went into tie-breaker rounds after the seniors’ close matches.
It took them losing, along with fellow seniors No. 2 singles Saige Galhardo and No. 2 doubles Chloe Hogan and Allison Sciaraffa, to sink the previously undefeated Vikings.
Going into the match, the players were pumped up, as Swett said there was plenty of music and singing on the bus ride up to Cambridge. He said the school held a surprise pep rally for the team on Friday, further bolstering spirits.
