History was made at Laureldale on Monday as the Berks Catholic girls tennis team defeated Wyomissing to claim the program’s first BCIAA team title.
“I’m just so thrilled for these girls,” Saints coach Lauren Urban said. “They work so hard. There are so many leaders on the court, and at any given point, I know that someone different can step up and win for us, which is super exciting.
”This is a team sport. Tennis can be so individual, but when you play for high school, you get to play a team sport and win it together. So to come out as winners in the team aspect of counties is so rewarding. I’m just so thrilled for them. They deserve it.”
The Saints won 3-1 over the Spartans, which included two wins in doubles matches and one singles match. The No.2 singles match did not finish after senior Isabella Logozzo defeated Peyton Carlson 6-2, 6-2 in the second game to make the score 3-1.
Earlier in the regular season, the Spartans defeated the Saints 4-3 and Logozzo fell to Carlson 1-6, 6-1, 10-6 in that match.
“I’m gonna be honest, (it feels) out of this world,” Logozzo said. “It didn’t even feel the same as when me and Sarah (Schantz) won districts (doubles). I had just looked up and everybody was like, ‘It’s the third (decisive) match,’ This was much more for the team. It felt good, because, obviously she had beaten me during the season, and it was a tough match, and today was also another, long and tough match.
“They (the Spartans) are such amazing players. But it’s the Backyard Brawl and we finally took it home.
“It definitely felt more of a team win, and that just made it so much better.”
In No. 1 singles Wyomissing senior Charlotte Reedy emerged victorious with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ariana Pievrakis, but losses in both doubles matches proved to be too much for the Spartans to overcome.
The duo of senior Francesca Ditsky and senior Maddie Gordos won No. 1 doubles with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Nehal Trivedi and Bella Karchevsky, while senior Molly McFadden and junior Serena Burkey won No. 2 doubles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kiki Verrechio and Karla Aguay. The No. 2 singles match between Wyomissing’s Lily Chen and Berks Catholic’s Sarah Schnatz ended with Schnatz up 7-6 (4) and 4-1 when it did not finish.
“We have a lot of seniors on our squad this year; girls that last year kind of got a glimpse of making it into the postseason,” Urban said. “And we really had no expectations placed on us last year. This year, I felt like we had some expectations placed on our shoulders, that we were expected to be a strong team with some great seniors. Sarah (Schnatz), Izzy (Logozzo), Francesca (Ditsky) and our No. 1 doubles, they have all been such amazing captains for us this year, and I feel like they’re just peaking now at their game.
“I think that at the end, Izzy had hit her groove, and she was mentally tough to finish out. It’s so hard to finish a tennis match; it’s so hard to close it out. And she was really able to dig deep there.”
For Urban and Logozzo, Berks Catholic’s depth has been paramount in reaching success. In Saturday’s 3-2 semifinal victory over Wilson, the Saints went 2-0 in doubles as Ditsky and Gordos defeated Victoria Sheehan and Lucy Lamparella 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and McFadden and Burkey defeated Delaney Kraras and Isabel Nigrini 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
“I feel like we have a lot of depth on the team,” Urban said, “and a lot of girls that are just resilient. We played a really tough match against Wilson on Saturday where we had lost the first set of the first four matches, and to be able to be resilient and come back and know that the match is never really over until it’s over; they are ready to play until the very end.
“I do agree that depth is our biggest strength,” Logozzo said. “And I think with that, we also work as a team too. We all support each other because of that depth. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we kind of uplift each other and make sure everybody is just happy all the time.”
Heading into the District 3 Class 2A team tournament, Berks Catholic has earned a first round bye as the No. 3 seed and will take on the winner of Camp Hill and Kutztown on Thursday at Berks Catholic at 4 p.m.. The second seed, Wyomissing has also earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of Annville Cleona and East Pennsboro on Thursday at Wyomissing at 4.
“I would like to say a big thank you to the team and a big thank you to my parents,” Logozzo said. “We’re gonna keep pushing it because we still have districts and the hard work is not over yet.”
