May 28, 2021
By Paul Silverfarb
With some tough times navigating the start of the spring sports season, especially dealing with the COVID protocols in place, head coach Ed Metzendorf and the rest of the Tigers were doing their best to get ready to have a breakout season.
Although it wasn’t a pretty start, going 1-4 to begin the season, the Tigers finished a shortened season strong, posting an overall record of 4-6 and had a plethora of athletes see significant improvement, according to Metzendorf.
“The philosophy I had with the girls this year was not to lose and that if we did lose, we shake the opposing team’s hand and say that it was a good match,” Metzendorf said. “I wanted the team to play the proper way and to make shots. I also tried to help them cut down on the errors because errors tend to give matches away. I wanted the other team to have to hit good shots to beat us. Their steady improvement from a strategic standpoint and from a skills standpoint was great to see. We improved tremendously throughout the season and the results showed that.”
However, just getting out on the court was music to the ears of the head coach and his tennis players.
“I think we are all extremely excited to be back on the courts and we were happy to enjoy the simplicities of playing tennis that may have been taken for granted in the past,” Metzendorf said. “After COVID-19 took away our entire 2020 season, it has allowed us to appreciate the game of tennis even more than ever before. It brought back a sense of normalcy and excitement into our team’s lives.”
One group of athletes that were ecstatic to compete this season were the senior captains on the Sacred Heart Greenwich roster.
According to the head coach, senior Ursula Vollmer is probably one of the most competitive athletes he has ever met.
“She had a win or die attitude and as a competitive person myself, I appreciate that attitude,” he said. “She was a great example to the younger players. She might not have won all her matches, but she gave it everything she had until the match was over.”
Fellow senor captain Grace Coale has been the No. 1 player for the past several years at Sacred Heart and has competed against some of the finest tennis talent the FAA and NEPSAC has to offer.
“She exemplifies everything that you want in a tennis player,” Metzendorf said. “She has a great game. Grace always had to face the toughest competition at No. 1 singles, and although she lost a lot of really tough and close matches this year, she battled and played well. It was a great learning experience for her as she furthers her tennis career at college.
Morgan Wilkens is that fun-loving senior captain that is friends with all and chats everybody on the team. But on the court the head coach said she led by example this season.
“She was the one captain that played doubles this year and had a ton of success at No. 1,” Metzendorf said. “She was a huge asset for us when it came to doubles. It was great for all the seniors to have the opportunity to play their senior year. They had a huge role on the team, of course, and are going to leave behind a tremendous legacy. Just to get this season underway and to be as successful as it was a great accomplishment for them.
For the Tigers this year, it was mainly about improving doubles tennis, as they found its greatest success this year focusing on doubles.
“I was really working hard with the team at doubles and its strategy,” Metzendorf said. “That’s what I wanted to see the improvement this year and that’s what happened. The girls really learned how to play doubles and, from match one to match nine, there was a significant rise in level of play. That translated to more success on the court and more wins.”
The first doubles team of Wilkens and Lehrman was lights out for Sacred Heart. Not to be outdone was the play of Fankie Marangi and Catherine Dodman. Rounding out the doubles team for the Tigers was the duo of Kaitlin Langer and Isobel Cunningham.
“Across the board I was impressed with the steady improvement throughout the season,” the head coach said. “The girls worked hard and improved. They put in the hard work and always finished strong.”
In addition to Coale at No. 1 singles and Vollmer playing No. 2 singles, Isobel Costello occupied the No. 3 singles slot.
“[Isobel] was a sophomore in her first year of varsity and was asked to do a lot at No. 3 singles,” Metzendorf said. “She’s very talented and really developed throughout the course of the season. She really improved and the results were indicative of that because she won a lot of matches at the end. Isobel really learned how to win tennis matches and what it took to come out victorious.”
Rounding out the singles competition this season and competing at No. 4 singles was Mary Hawthorn-Kanos.
On Saturday, Sacred Heart Greenwich finished the season in grand fashion. Going neck-in-neck with Rye Country Day School in the final game of the season, it was the Tigers that got the better of the Wildcats, winning 4-3 in thrilling fashion.
SHG got wins from Vollmer, Costello, and the No. 1 doubles duo of Lehrman and Wilkens. The clinching victory was at No. 3 doubles, as the team of Marangi and Sia Goyal came away with the win, beating RCDS 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.
Vollmer took care of her opponent at No. 2 singles, winning 6-1, 5-7, 10-8. Not to be outdone was Costello, as she came away with the 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles. At No. 1 doubles, the team of Wilken and Lehrman finished off their Rye Country Day opponents by coming back strong and winning 1-6, 7-5, 11-9.
“Saturday was an awesome way to finish the season because we won a match that was back-and-forth until the very end,” Metzendorf said. “We won a 4-3 match, with four matches going to a third set tiebreaker. The mental toughness was just as important as the physicality of the game and I am very proud of the girls. It doesn’t matter the opponent, but to win a tight match on a hot day is a great way to end the season and go into the offseason.”
