Archmere edged Tower Hill by a single point to win the 2009 girls high school team tennis title Wednesday, one year after falling to the Hillers by the same margin.
The Auks dropped both of their championship doubles matches, but their top-seeded second singles player Amy Zhu dominated Caesar Rodney's Dylan Barton (6-0, 6-1) to put her team up 20-17. Players are awarded two points each time they advance in the four-round tournament.
Tower Hill's Lucy Murry won her third singles final (6-4, 6-4) over St. Andrew's Kristina Kassis to bring the Hillers to within 20-19, but Tower Hill's top singles player, second-seed Lucy Nutting fell to Sanford standout Cindy Duan.
Just a sophomore, Duan breezed past the Nutting (6-2, 6-2) for her third state title, after beginning her varsity career as just an eighth grader. It was a classic tennis battle: Nuttings powerful ground strokes against Duan's mobility. Nutting had her share of winners, but most of the time Duan found a way to get the ball back into her court.
"It's a pretty big relief because pressure builds up every year just to win it because you've done it before, so it's good to get this one under my belt," Duan said.
Nutting cramped in both legs in the middle of the second set and was down on the court getting treatment for nearly ten minutes before finishing the match.
"It's really respectable what she did today, just to be able to gut it out and handle all those cramps," said Duan, who said she's never experienced that kind of cramping before.
For her part, Nutting refused to use the cramping as an excuse and said she never considered retiring from the match.
"That's where the mental part of tennis comes in," she said. "It gets in your head and you just have to stay strong, and not just physically but mentally as well."
Brandywine High School twins Becca and Hillary Boova teamed up to take the second doubles title, the only winners Wednesday from a public school. Both juniors, after the match the Boova's said they plan to take a shot at singles in their senior season.
Tower Hill's Annie Hobbs and Sarah Garland took the first singles title, defeating Archmere's Bridget Sauer and Alison Celello 6-4, 6-0.
"They take coaching very well, they do what they're told. They're a dream to coach, a dream doubles team," said Tower Hill coach Wendy Berkover.
On the boys' side, St. Andrew's won at both doubles slots en route to the team championship, unseating defending champion Wilmington Friends. Friends finished with 17 points, four behind St. Andrew's, despite their top singles player Troy Beneck's 6-2, 6-1 win over the Cardinal's Mark Weiland.
At second singles, Salesianum freshman Austin Blake handed Friends' Travis Beck his first-ever state tournament loss with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Beck won the title at second singles in each of his firs three years.
RESULTS:
BOYS
1st Singles
#6 Mark Weiland, St. Andrew's 1 2
#1 Troy Beneck, Wilm. Friends 6 6
2nd Singles
#3 Travis Peck, Wilm. Friends 3 4
#1 Austin Blake, Salesianum 6 6
3rd Singles
#3 Pujan Dave, Dover 3 4
#1 Alex Matulas, Tatnall 6 6
1st Doubles
#3 Daniel Rakes/Vybav Hiresave, Dover 1 2
#1 Will Plautz/Carter Lovejoy, St. Andrew's 6 6
2nd Doubles
#3 Brian Felzer/Konnor Houff, Tower Hill 5 6
#1 Alex Lynch/Arthur Gosnell, St. Andrew's 7 7 (7-3)
Team
1. St. Andrew's (21)
2. Friends (17)
3. Dover (14)
4. Tower Hill (13)
5. Tatnall (12)
GIRLS
1st Singles
#2 Lucy Nutting, Tower Hill 2 2
#1 Cindy Duan, Sanford 6 6
2nd Singles
#2 Dylan Barton, Caesar Rodney 0 1
#1 Amy Zhu, Archmere 6 6
3rd Singles
#6 Kristina Kassis, St. Andrew's 4 4
#1 Lucy McMurry, Tower Hill 6 6
1st Doubles
#3 Annie Hobbs/Sarah Garland, Tower Hill 6 6
#1 Bridget Sauer/Alison Celello, Archmere 4 0
2nd Doubles
#5 Abby Lamb/Cassie McAllister, Archmere 6 3 2
#2 Becca Boova/Hillary Boova, Brandywine 2 6 6
Team
1. Archmere (20)
2. Tower Hill (19)
3. Brandywine (16)
4. Caesar Rodney (12)
4. St. Andrew's (12)
