PAWTUCKET — As one streak ends, the other is still alive and well.
La Salle girls tennis lost its 138-match win streak in the season opener to Barrington. The Eagles took another match from the Rams later in the season and entered Saturday’s championship as the proverbial favorites.
But the Rams know Slater Park all too well. And for the streak that really matters, the consecutive championship run? That’s still perfect in Providence.
Ana Lamoriello won her No. 2 singles match, 6-3, 7-6 (7) and rightfully dropped to Slater’s court as No. 2 La Salle (17-2) posted a 4-2 decision against top-seeded Barrington (18-1) to run the championship streak to 11 straight years.
“It was a really emotional moment,” Lamoriello said. “We’ve had a really long year, everyone’s worked so hard. We had to rebuild with so many new players, so many new faces. I think just senior season ending like this was so special, we were kind of underdogs.”
“She found a stride, probably halfway through the season,” La Salle coach Tom Martin said of Lamoriello. “She just kept getting more and more confident, and I thought her concentration and execution was excellent today.”
The Rams worked in their first win as multi-sport star Eliza Barker stormed to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the No. 3 singles. The second doubles pairing of Moira Haxton and Alessandra Roye had La Salle up 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
But the Rams still needed to close out an undefeated, and hungry Eagles team eyeing their first title since 2001. And the Eagles didn’t go quietly as Barrington took the No. 3 doubles match, 6-4, 6-0, with Mira Scheiner and Ella Schweier’s victory.
“I talked about the legacy of success of La Salle,” Martin said after the second loss to Barrington. “And I just said that you want to do your best to try to continue that, and they seemed to focus in at practice and improve the execution of matches. You could just see a big change and it shouldn’t be interpreted as they were being pressured to win. But just go out and play your best and whatever happens. It was the same thing today.”
La Salle’s doubles loss only intensified the No. 4 singles match that saw Genevieve Raposo buckle down and hold off Charlotte Byon, 6-2, 6-4, to set up Lamoriello’s winning match.
“I knew that we were close in the wins,” Raposo said of the match. “And I knew that [Raposo’s match] wasn’t just for me to win, but it was for our team. I wanted this so bad and I just pulled through it for the team, and not just me, but everyone.”
Addy Friedman and Jasmine Malik won the No. 1 doubles match for the Eagles. But with Lamoriello leading, the Rams just needed their senior to finish off the match to keep the state’s crown with La Salle.
“We’re ready to start new streaks,” Lamoriello said. “[The winning streak] was going to come to an end at some point. But we’re happy that we were able to keep our championship streak.”
La Salle 4, Barrington 2
Singles – Ava Koczera-Kasem, B, vs. Bianca Presciutti, LSA, susp third set; Ana Lamoriello, LSA def. Sadie Spector, 6-3, 7-6 (7); Eliza Barker, LSA def. Anna Pani, 6-1, 6-2; Genevieve Raposo, LSA def. Charlotte Byon, 6-2, 6-4; Doubles – Addy Friedman/Jasmine Malik, B, def. Ava Paletta/ Giuliana Santoro, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Moira Haxton/Alessandra Roye, LSA def. Carla Chen/ Jillian Frechette, 6-4, 6-2; Mira Scheiner/Ella Schweier, B, def. Sloane Ferrara/ Elizabeth Vitale, 6-4, 6-0.
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: La Salle girls tennis captures 11th straight state championship
